


Hell Or High Water

by RavenRiya



Category: Orange is the New Black
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-01
Updated: 2019-07-13
Packaged: 2020-06-02 03:59:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 13
Words: 24,534
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19433485
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RavenRiya/pseuds/RavenRiya
Summary: Piper Chapman is an CIA special agent on a mission to infiltrate a drug cartel through one of its best importers that being Alex Vause. The agency suspects that Kubra Balik is now involved in a terrorist organisation and their only way in is Piper.Follow Piper's journey as she falls in love with Alex Vause in the worst of circumstances.





	1. Chapter 1

Coming back to the States was an official transfer. If it had been up to her she would have never come back. But her last mission had been a success. As she walked into the New York field office it was evident in her colleagues faces. She was riding the high of catching the most wanted hacker of all time in Moscow. It had been an undercover operation. She had to live and make a life out in the Soviet nation then get in contact with the mark, make her fall in love and shoot her right in the head. It was upsetting, yes. But its what she did for a living, what she was best at, for what she was getting a medal of honour - here at the CIA field office along with a briefing of her next mission.

She went straight for her operation officer's corner office and opened the door with a slight knock. Everyone was already there waiting for her.

"Here she is. Women of the hour. Come in Chapman." Her Operation officer welcomed her warmly. 

"Nice to see you too, Joe." Piper replied smiling. She hugged him briefly. "Director Rawlins, I didn't know you would be here." She addressed the director with a firm handshake.

"I was here on some official business and well, I thought it would be a pleasure to present you with the medal myself, Agent Chapman."

"Thank you, Director."

"If you could step over here." The director requested.

Piper stood next to the director. The office was packed with a handful of special agents and officers with admiration, respect and gratitude in their eyes. 

"Special Agent, Piper Elizabeth Chapman, for your outstanding performance and sacrifices made in the field at a great personal risk, it is my honour to present you with the Distinguished Intelligence Medal." A gold plated medal in a velvet box was given to her. "Congratulations. Tell no one." Everyone laughed and applauded.

"Thank you, ma'm. It's an honour."

"No, Chapman you deserve this. Your work took a lot of big targets out of the game. I assume you're ready for your next mission."

"Yes, ma'm. I have a briefing today."

"Well, good work. Keep it up and you'll be sitting at my chair sooner than later." Piper smiled gratefully. 

"I shall leave you two to it, then." The director nodded at Caputo and Chapman and left the office with the rest of her colleagues

Caputo took out his laptop and gestured her to follow him.

"The conference room? This case must be big then." Piper said walking with him through the hallway. They got into an elevator. Caputo pressed the button for underground conference room.

"It is a big case. FBI, DHS, DEA... everyone is on it. No one has a lead though. That is why you are here. This can make or break your career, Chapman." Caputo said. Piper was focused on the screen showing floor numbers. She said nothing.

"The director seemed very fond of you." Caputo said again. Piper chuckled.

"It's... she's grateful for my father, William Chapman. He saved her son's life. And they went to Harvard together so there's that."

"You're doing it again, Chapman. Discrediting yourself. You did a great job." Caputo said trying to sound supportive. Caputo was her mentor here at the agency. He always had her back. 

The elevator stopped. They stepped out into the dimly lit covert operation section. A selected number of agents, analysts and programmers were waiting for them in the conference room.

"Let's just get this done." Piper said smiling at Caputo. 

Piper took her seat beside Caputo at the head of the table. As they turned on the projectors, her co-workers (whose faces she had not seen in a year) congratulated her. Larry Bloom stood up and started the presentation.

"Kubra Balik. Born and raised in the States is the most wanted drug kingpin on DEA's list. He operates internationally and is known to be a violent employer."

"What put him under our radar?" Piper asked.

"We have been monitoring him very closely for the past year. And we have evidence that his focus has shifted from Heroine to illegal weaponry, bombs and terorism in Europe." Larry finished. Caputo picked up after that.

"He is a man seeking power. We interrogated some Afghani locals back in Afghanistan and they said people associated with his cartel has been selling guns and bombs that blew up our army. Somehow, he also gained access to surveillance equipment in the Air Force. We were able to bring it down before he could do any serious damage. He has proven to be a constant threat." Caputo said and stood up pointing at a blurry picture of a bald man. "This is the only picture we have of him."

"So, how do we get to him?" Piper asked, getting excited. Everyone looked lost.

"Well," Caputo sighed. "It's near impossible getting close to him without earning his trust. He is a paranoid man. It is clear that he operates on two fronts. Drugs and terorism. While he is focused on exporting bombs, his drug empire is his weakest side. We are thinking of infiltrating from there. It's the easiest way to get close to him without raising any suspicions. It keeps DEA and FBI off our backs as well if we keep feeding them enough intel about his drug ring"

"What's the catch?"

Caputo changed the slide to a woman's photograph. The photograph showed her in a cafe with a book in hand, sipping her coffee, black rimmed glasses perched on top of her nose. She looked so engrossed in her book that she didn't notice her photo getting clicked. Although Piper wouldn't admit it, she would have really found her attractive if they had met under ordinary circumstances.

"Wow. She's hot." Larry Bloom voiced her thoughts.

"Shut it, Bloom." Caputo scolded. "So, this is Alex Vause. Born and raised in the states. She is our getaway into the cartel. Vause is one of Kubra's personal favourites. She had been working for him since she was 19. She is a smuggler and recruiter. She is second in command in the cartel along with Fahri, who is her recruiter. She's known to living in New York right now. This picture was taken 4 days ago. Our agents also confirmed her visit in one too many bars which means she is looking for drug mules. Alex Vause is your primary target."

"I suppose I am going undercover once again. What's the story?"

"We haven't figured that out yet." Another agent spoke up. "We have been monitoring Vause and in all her time she hadn't stayed this long in one place. She is all over the map. She has an apartment in Manhattan. We have been listening in for any calls from Balik but it seems like they communicate through encrypted mails. Her tracks are almost untraceable."

"I am sorry but what's your name again?" Piper asked politely.

"Poussey. Poussey Washington. I am a tech specialist. I am a fan of your work though." the agent replied. Piper nodded in acknowledgement.

"I should probably introduce you to the team." Caputo said. "Okay, so we have Larry Bloom - analyst. Agent Carlin for backup field support. Agent Washington and agent Benett for tech support. Mrs. Figueroa from legal." Everyone responded to their names by a firm head nod towards Piper. "And team, this is infamous Agent Chapman."

"Its a pleasure working with you all." Piper said.

"Pleasure is all ours." Larry chipped in with a creepy smile then retreated when Caputo glared at him. 

"Let's get to work. We have to plant Piper Chapman in Alex Vause's life in less than two days." Caputo commanded.

After eight hours of constant brainstorming of ideas, yelling opinions and risk calculations later, they had outlined a story. To sell the story to someone as experienced as Alex, they kept the story genuine. Piper was going to be just Piper Chapman. From all the intelligence that they had gathered previously, they easily figured out Alex's preferred type.Young, Naive, Sad, Old money girls who have no previous record of crime but are fed up with their families and are looking for a rebellion against their parent's carefully constructed social image.

Piper Chapman is a 25 year old Smith's grad currently working as a waitress and an aspiring writer. She has a degree in English Literature. Her fiancé Larry Bloom just broke up with her after 3 year long relationship. She is now looking for a new job. She is supposed to be very WASPy and naive. She does not have many friends but her father keeps her accounts filled. They build her social media profiles and hacked into the mainframe to make the posts a year or two old. It was all set to be the perfect bait for Alex. 

Alex is someone who can easily read people. Piper has to keep certain level of general admiration to get in her good graces. And that wasn't hard at all. Alex had an aura about her which made her sexy and appealing and Piper wasn't blind to it. It certainly made her job easy.

Undercover operations are never predictable but the agency always tries to exert as much control as possible. Piper will be out of any contact for a little while. So, they had to make sure everything goes just as planned. Although the spy work wasn't as cool as they show in movies, it was interesting nonetheless. 

Piper was given a very ordinary looking iphone with a hidden switch which turned it into a CIA encrypted phone impossible to hack, track or monitor. A gun which can be mantled-dismantled in less than 5 secs, pens which can record videos, eyeliners with paralysing injections. 

Piper left for her new old designated apartment in Brooklyn with a suitcase in tow. There was nothing connecting her to the agency except maybe her skills of observation.

That night Piper laid back in her couch with a glass of wine in her hand and macbook on her lap trying to find out more about the enigmatic Alex Vause. Nothing came up at first, of course. It would take more than insta stalking to find Alex online. After digging a little bit more (with the help of a facial recognition software), she found her. Not much, but there were a couple of pictures of Alex spread throughout profiles of rich, young girls. She seemed annoyed in most of them but sexy nonetheless. A little more research showed that those profiles were abandoned not long after posting the pictures. So, this Alex person may not like social media that much. Piper could not help but compare herself to those girls. She fell asleep drunk, looking at one picture which showed that sexy rose tattoo on Alex's arm. And things just got a little bit more interesting.


	2. Flowers in your hair

1

Piper wore casual floral top and jeans. She left her hair down thinking it made her look younger. She printed out her fake resume in hopes that at some point Alex will pick it up and read it. Alex's location was sent to her on her encrypted device. She took a cab to the bar in downtown New York. She entered the bar with a heavy sigh. _Here it goes._

The bar was buzzing with slight rock music in the background. Piper easily found Alex, there at the centre of attention with her friends. Alex's voice was immediately distinguishable. The hoarse undertone and confident demeanour was sexy as hell and Piper was not ready for that.

Piper beelined for the counter trying not to get caught staring. But there it was, the same voice saying - "

Hey you, Laura Ingalls Wilder." Piper turned around and Alex was looking at her. "We are skipping America before the apocalypse wanna come?"

"Sorry?" Piper said, cluelessly.

"What can I get for ya?" The bartender asked suddenly. Piper turned around to the counter. She has to play her part.

"Oh, hey, hi.." Piper said. "I was wondering if you were hiring." She held out her resume.

"No, sorry."

"Can I leave this with you?"

"Honestly, its gonna end up in a drawer somewhere, so..."

"Its okay. Well ..." Piper halted. She needs to attract Alex somehow. "Can I have a Margarita then?"

"That I can do for you." The moment she placed her order, Piper could feel Alex approaching. Piper sat down on a bar stool. And Alex walked up to her.

"It's a little cold out for margaritas don't you think?" Alex said casually. Piper was so taken aback by her downright sexiness that she couldn't look away or function normally. She blinked and her brain caught that Alex was reading her resume.

"......you need a lesson in forging a resume?" Alex chuckled.

"Do you work here?" Piper stupidly asked.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" Alex went on to reading it, looking at her so admiringly. "...you've never waited a fucking table in your life, have you?"

"No." Piper smiled.

"So, Piper Chapman." Alex joked about her resume and Piper snatched it out of her hand embarrassingly.

"Who are you?" Piper finally asked.

"My name is Alex." Alex answered honestly. "And what do you do Alex? Besides making fun of strangers in bars?" Piper asked in a voice she thought sounded sexy.

"I work for an international drug cartel." Alex deadpanned. Piper was caught off guard. She was expecting a lie but no Alex gave her the truth right away.

Alex laughed then. Her head tilted back. All rich and husky. And Piper wanted it to never stop.

2

Having sex with Alex was whole another story. Piper was in a trance as she followed Alex to her lavish apartment. Piper had never had such a generous lover (even if fake) as Alex. She couldn't get over it. The way Alex's hands were everywhere, touching places that she never knew existed. The scent, the kisses and that ridiculous smirk on her face after Piper's third orgasm that night.

When Alex finally laid down next to her, they both couldn't stop smiling.

"It was terrible, wasn't it?" Alex finally asked, grinning.

"Yeah. So bad. You're really bad at it." Piper replied smugly. Alex laughed and kissed her again. Piper hungrily kissed back. They just couldn't get enough of themselves.

Alex's phone rang and Piper was suddenly reminded of her duties. Alex groaned getting out of bed. "What time is it in Amsterdam?" She asked.

"I have no idea." Piper replied.

Alex left to get her phone from the living room. Piper scrambled up, trying to find her phone. She took out the little bug from under her phone cover and placed it on the inside of her bedside lamp. She activated it through her phone. It should be able to record every conversation in this bedroom. Once it was done Piper breathed out in relief that Alex hadn't come back yet.

But suddenly a shadow emerged from the hallway and launched herself on Piper. _Holy fuck._ Piper panicked and her training kicked in. She rolled out of bed with the hooded woman on top of her and fell on the floor. When the woman tried to punch her, Piper saw it coming and grabbed her wrist. She twisted her wrist and in a blink of an eye the woman was in a headlock struggling to breathe.

"Piper, what the fuck!" Alex shouted.

"Who is this? She broke in and tried to punch me?" Piper shouted back, not releasing the headlock.

"She's my ex-girlfriend. Can you please release her? Looks like she can't breath!" Piper released her.

The woman crawled away in fear, coughing violently.

"Sylvia, are you okay?" Alex asked.

"Who the fuck is that? And I am your fucking girlfriend." Sylvia cried out.

"Girlfriend?" Piper was on her feet. _I need to get out of here. What if she saw me?_

"It's complicated." Alex said with uncertainty.

"Well, fuck you!" Piper grabbed her belongings as fast as she could.

"Piper, I can explain."

"Go fuck yourself, Alex!" Piper pushed the door close and ran down the stairs. Thanks to her training, she was fully clothed when she got out of the building. She took out her phone and dialed immediately.

"Hey, Carlin, I need you to keep an eye on this girl called Sylvia. She's supposedly Alex's girlfriend? She showed up out of nowhere and she may have seen me putting in the bug. Also tell Washington that the big is in."

"Roger that." Carlin answered and hung up.

Piper went home as fast as she could. She turned on her laptop and tuned in on the audio receiver at Alex's apartment.

She fell asleep listening to it. Turned out Sylvia hadn't seen a thing. It was just a usual bickering between her and Alex. Alex firmly telling her to get the fuck out and never come back.

3

The doorbell rang at 5:50 am. Piper was awake and getting ready for her usual run. Nobody was supposed to come at such an unusual time. Her neighbor, a nurse, was working a night shift. Piper took her extra service gun and carefully tiptoed to the front door. She peeped through the peep hole. There was no one. She opened the door hesitantly. A burning smell. _What the fuck?_

A burning paper bag was right in front of door. She heard someone running up the staircase. She pointed her gun towards the sound.

"Chapman, it's me." Agent Carlin called out. "Don't shoot."

"Yeah. Okay." Piper dropped the gun.

"Is everything alright? I just saw that Sylvia exiting through the hack door."

"She left this." Piper pointed towards the paper bag. Stella instinctively stepped on it to put out the fire.

"Fuck!" Stella cried. "What the fuck is this?" Her one leg up in the air.

"It's a classic. Shit in a bag. Didn't think you would fall for it." Piper laughed and went inside to fetch some water.

"No. But this is serious. How did she find you?"

"I think she followed me."

"Is she gonna be a problem?"

"I don't think so. But she really does makes things interesting."


	3. Mystery Of Love

1

Step two was fortunately easier than one. Piper just had to get close to Alex in a completely non-suspicious way and wait for Alex to come to her. Easy right? Five days after the first contact, Alex was again at the same bar with her group of friends. Piper casually walked up to the bar and ordered a beer.

She could sense Alex looking at her. She gathered a little courage and turned to catch Alex staring at her. Piper had worn a classy black halter neck dress with bare shoulders. It was proving to the right choice. She raised an eyebrow.

Alex smirked and walked towards her in slow, deliberate steps. She halted right in front of her.

"You look amazing, kid." Alex commented in slightly breathless voice.

"Your girlfriend think so too?" Piper quirked an eyebrow

"Jesus Christ. She's- she is not my girlfriend. I broke up like months ago."

"Is that so, Alex?" Piper took a swig of her beer.

"She did something, didn't she?" Alex asked apologetically.

"Tried to punch me. Followed me home. Put a bag of burning shit right in front of my door."

"Bag of burning shit!? Fuck!" Alex burst out laughing. Piper felt blessed to hear that sound of laughter. So she laughed along. They stopped when they both were out of breath. Piper could feel her cheeks reddening but she couldn't figure out whether it was because of the laughter or just the sheer presence of Alex.

Alex cleared her throat and stepped even closer. Piper's breath hitched.

"Look, Piper, I really like you. Like I really want to spend more time with you. If you want that too then maybe we could start something incredible. Here. Now."

"I would...I would really like that. Alex." Piper gasped as Alex pulled her closer. Their faces so close. Lips hesitant at first but then kissing with practiced symphony. And everything else just became a background.

2

At first it felt like they were both hiding things, holding back. Piper waited for Alex to open up. Relationships, even fake ones, needed time to build up trust and mutual understanding. Even though the lack of information bothered Piper, she didn't try to fill the silence. She waited. And it turned out to be the right decision.

Three weeks into their so called relationship, after a steamy love making session, they both are just there and they know it is time. A shy smile on Alex's lips. They are facing each other. Head buried in pillows in Alex's bed. Alex releases a sigh.

"Pipes..." Alex whispered. Pipes, that's what's Alex calls her. It feels personal. More intimate than any other nickname. She is just Pipes with Alex. Hers.

"Yeah, Al..." Piper tucked a strand of raven hair behind Alex's ear.

"My mother calls me that, you know." Alex said fondly.

"She does?" Piper smiled.

"Yeah." Alex smiled. "I love her, you know. She's incredible."

Piper collects these moments. So raw and honest. It's not an information that she'll share with the agency. It's an information that makes Alex more human, approachable, less of a target in Piper's mind. Alex is looking at her expectantly now. She is seeking approval. And Piper will give her that.

"She must be." Piper said. "I can only imagine. She raised someone like you. So beautiful, brave and strong." Piper punctuates it with a kiss on Alex's lips. Alex looks away.

"She doesn't know about this. This cartel business." Piper can sense the wetness in her voice even though Alex's eyes are upward now. Piper's hand finds her hands and she makes soothing circles with her thumb.

"She thinks I am an art dealer." Alex tries to laugh but it stops somewhere in her throat. "Do you think she'll forgive me for lying?" Alex sounds so small that Piper has a sudden urge to kiss her worries away, to hold her and never let go. Alex is seeking reassurance. And Piper will give her that.

"Let's see, she would be mad. She would want answers. And she would probably slap your beautiful stupid face." Piper smiled. "But she'll forgive you. Because you're good, Alex. because she loves you. And she would always like to be a part of your life no matter what you do as long as you're good at your heart." Piper kisses her again. Alex chuckles.

"Thank you, Pipes" Alex said. "That was very cheesy."

"Shut up. You love cheesy."

"Yeah, I do."

That morning something changed between them. They were more at ease. Alex seemed more comfortable. And Piper was proud of being a good girlfriend. And when it was time, Alex walked her back to her apartment. In that walk back, they exchanged apartment keys. Kisses and promises. Piper wished, really wished that Alex would take her with her this time. She didn't.

3

Five weeks in the relationship and they find out that Alex's visits to the city are more frequent. She's here almost every weekend. With Piper. And Piper feels special knowing that. Alex can't tolerate the distance between them and neither can she.

Piper has doubts. She knows she is falling for her target. She shouldn't. It's unprofessional and risky. This could jeopardize the whole mission but any resistance to Alex's charm and all the attention is in vain. The only thing keeping her at bay is the idea that Alex might be faking it too. Maybe this is what she does with all of her mules. Maybe this is an intricately designed trap for drug mules. But Piper knows, somewhere deep in her heart, everything between them is real. At least on Alex's side.

4

"You never talk about your parents." Alex asks, her hands deep in Piper's hair.

"There's nothing to talk about." Piper answers. Her eyes on the old battered copy of Wuthering Heights. Not reading.

They are in Piper's apartment. In her bed. Alex had arrived an hour ago with chinese takeout and a music tape. She is taking Piper to a party at some colleagues place. A success party. Alex wouldn't tell her anymore. This is the beginning of Piper's involvement. Piper wants to be a part of that life and she knows Alex wants it too.

Alex doesn't ask any further. Piper knows she needs to answer this. She can't dodge every question. She could lie, yes. But some part of her doesn't want to. She wants to be just as honest as Alex. She wants to open up just as much as Alex has.

"Well... my mother - she doesn't exactly approve of my lifestyle. The way I live. The people I love. She hates it. She wishes I could be more like her. Married to a man who would take care of me, you know that kinda stuff." Piper's voice is low and hesitant. Alex's eyes are soft and reassuring, telling her to go on. "And my dad, well, he is a neurosurgeon. He wanted me to be a doctor too. Like my brother Danny. I was a really good student. Finished high school earlier than most kids my age. But I never wanted to be like them. All I wanted was to be as far away from them as possible." Piper's eyes were tearing up and Alex kissed those tears away. Piper sat up. Her hand intertwined in Alex's.

"So, I got a degree in English literature." Piper continued. "My dad hated that. Hated that I would waste my talent like that. After that I just wanted to be a writer. Make it on my own, you know." That was a lie. She was recruited by the agency. Because she not only got an english degree but also Master's in Mathematics and physics. Piper loved being an agent. The power. Thrill. Authority. Being able to create new lives. Go to places. Away from her family.

Alex tugged on her hand. Pulled her closer. Their foreheads touching.

"Kiss me." Piper whispered.

Alex obeyed. Slow and gentle. Letting her know that she's loved. Cared for. But Piper's eyes are hungry. She wants to forget that she shared. She is scared that she just made all this a little bit more real. So she kisses back with predatory urgency. Frantic. Biting her lower lip. Hands travelling south.

Alex chuckled as they fell back on the bed. Piper on top of Alex. Then Alex rolled over making Piper land beside her.

"Pipes..." she whispered. "I... I want you to know that you are different for me."

"You're different too, Al. You have really pretty lips." Piper laughed.

"Shh..." Alex said. "You're different because... I love you."

"You do?" Piper asked with a coy smile. Caught so off-guard that she can't believe she heard right. _How could she just lay there, confess her love and look so beautiful?_

"Yeah, I do." Alex's smile is shy. Like she hadn't prepared for it. "I don't say that to everyone. You have to say it back."

"I love you too, Al."

Piper's answers instinctively. Like she has known it longer. It's scary saying it back. Scary cause it's real. But it's exciting. And it does something deep in her stomach. Never in a million years had she thought that she would love someone this deeply or someone will find her worthy of love.

She would come back to this moment probably sometime around midnight. She'll dissect it. Criticize herself for being unprofessional and vulnerable. But then she'll realise how vulnerable Alec herself was. How much courage it must have taken to say those words. How Alex's eyes had dropped in relief when Piper said it back.

But not now.

Now the only sensation in her body is happening down there. Alex's tongue sucking her inner thighs. Worshiping. Kissing. Murmuring I love yous. And Piper's vocabulary has reduced to _fuck me, Jesus Alex, please, god, Jesus fucking Christ._ And the truth has really set her free.

5

The day after Alex asked her to come with her, her team celebrated it at the agency. The mission has been a success so far. Soon enough Piper will be in Kubra's circle.

Caputo patted her back showing his appreciation.

"You know there are talks about placing a Special Agent in-charge, here in New York. And a few people suggested your name." He said off handedly.

"That's..."

"Hmm...everything is riding on this mission, Chapman. Balik is a game changer. Just get Vause and Balik. The agency will make sure you get a chair at the big guys table."

"Yes...thank you, sir. I really appreciate it."

"Don't fuck it up, kiddo."

"I won't, sir."

But she knew she had already fucked it up. She was irrevocably and undoubtedly in love with Alex.

Thanks to Piper being such a good liar, her anxiety was rewarded. Because when Alex asked her why she seemed so tense, Piper said she had a dinner with her parents. And Alex being the generous lover that she was, relieved all the stress on there on the marble kitchen counter. Piper chanted her name like she was addicted.

"Alex...Alex...fuck Alex!"

Piper gladly traded lust and pleasure. Her guilt safely tucked in a box that she'll not reopen anytime soon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Your kudos and comments are the reason I still write. It’s good to know that someone out there still like what I write. So, thank you.


	4. Don’t think twice, it’s alright

Going away with Alex meant completely devouring herself in the carefully constructed lie. Piper was a master of that. Or so she thought. The fake love wasn't fake anymore. Ignorance was bliss. Just Alex and her, in five star hotels and resorts around the world. Like a long ass vacation. 

The first month, Alex wouldn't talk much about work. She kept Piper away from it. Piper suspected that it was a protective rather than secretive move. And Piper never insisted on knowing. Later, Alex confessed that she was scared that Piper would run off if she saw how it was up close and she didn't want to lose her. 

Piper absolutely wouldn't have. Even if she was just an aspiring writer from New York, she would've stick around. It was all so intriguing. The way a cartel functions. Mules, users, smugglers, thugs all them under one roof partying for 12, 14, 18 hours without giving a fuck. 

Then there were quite nights in their hotel rooms. They would read together silently on their bed. Limbs intertwined. Debating literature and poems. 

"Write a poem, Pipes." Alex said one night, flipping through Wuthering heights . 

"What?" Piper laughed. 

"A poem. Right now. Please." Alex said, raising her eyebrow. 

"Okay..." Piper was always up for a challenge. She quickly conjured something in her mind. She leaned in close to Alex's ear and whispered devilishly,

"Such heavy lips..." Piper licked the space beneath Alex's ear. Kissed it gently. "Can slow down anyone's walk." 

Alex gasped as Piper hand grabbed her breast. Kneading it with familiar pressure. 

"Such huge breasts," Alex chuckled. "Can steal anyone's heart."

Piper played with the waistband of her trousers keeping an eye contact. Alex's lips were parted. Thirsty. Wet. Flustered with the heat and throbbing happening at her core, thanks to Piper's inhibitions. 

"The dark lily:" Piper pulled over Alex's T-shirt only to discover nothing underneath. Alex moaned at the kiss that Piper placed just below her belly button. "Your look is a taut arrow..."

Piper got rid of those trousers too. And the insanely sexy black lace panties. "In the bow of love,"

One finger. In Alex's clit. Making slow circles. Deliberate lips on Alex's nipple one by one. Sucking. Kissing. Teasing. Alex was panting. Begging. 

"Piper. Fuck. Fuck. More. I need more."

"Say the magic word, love." Piper smirked. Watching Alex so flustered and out of control was a sight to behold. 

"Oh, fuck, please. Please! Fuck!"

"Please what, love?"

"Fuck me. Jesus Christ Piper. Fuck me please."

"Your face bests the moon." Piper punctuated with a long and hard kiss on Alex's mouth. And two more fingers in her clit. And Alex rides out her orgasm in Piper's arms. But Piper is relentless. She keeps on giving till 4 in the morning. When Alex is all out of energy and practically drops dead on the bed. 5 times. Piper kept a count. Not their record but a glorious night indeed. 

Later that night, Piper finishes the poem in her head. 

Yet I know it will vanish one day. 

———————

Piper never misses her morning runs. Whether it's Belgium, Bali, Dublin, Tokyo or Cambodia. She's always up before Alex. And she's running. It gives her time to re-evaluate. 

They have been going to parties and gatherings togethers. Once Alex was sure Piper wouldn't leave, she would take Piper everywhere possible. Alex made sure that Piper wasn't near any heroine. But Piper would get drunk. Or act drunk to get along with the people there. 

There were a lot of interesting people. Piper would turn on her charming persona and act as naive as she could. Laughing. Drinking. Kissing Alex. Clicking pictures with everyone. Of everyone. Even in her half-drunken state she would make a note of every name and every location. 

6 months into the relationship. Piper had figured out most of it. The mules, the routes, finances, and Alex's obsession with perfectionism in her work. She had made a profile on every person in the close knit circle of Kubra's empire. Except one person - Kubra Balik. 

She hadn't met him yet. She knew Alex went to meetings on a weekly basis but never with her. Paranoid little shit. 

One thing was certain though, Alex had nothing to do with any weapon smuggling. She might not even know about that business. Alex was kept only one the drug side, which provided funding for the weapons. But soon, if Kubra wanted, Alex would be a part of that too. Given Alex's skills on trading things beyond borders, Kubra would soon involve her in it. 

Back in the States, the agency was getting anxious. It was time to reap what Piper had sowed. 

That is how Piper started passing the information. One mule at a time. She would mail a photo and a name when she was out on her run. And then the agency would pass it on to other three lettered departments. Small fishes first. Duty before love. 

————————-

"How close are you to Kubra?" Joe asked. 

"Not as close as I would like to. Haven't even met him yet." 

"That is not good." 

"I know. I'm trying."

"What's the problem? Maybe we could help."

"Fahri. He wouldn't let Alex near the terror business."

"Wants to keep it all to himself?"

"No. I think he is protecting her from getting involved. Drug cartel is one thing but weapons and bombs don't really suit Alex's moral compass."

"Vause has a moral compass. She is a criminal. Do you need a reminder?"

"No, Sir."

"Then Fahri needs to be gone. So Alex can get involved. So you can get involved. Do you understand, Agent Chapman?"

"Yes, sir, I understand." 

"Good. Now, go do your job. There's a lot of expectations riding on this mission."

Piper hung up. She resumed her running routine around Rembrandt park. She had been doing a great job so far. Giving them names. Enough names that the DEA captured a record number of drug smugglers on the US soil. And a witch-hunt was going on inside the cartel to eliminate the mole. 

The cracks were clearly visible in Alex too. She was working all the time. Checking, rechecking all the routes. Shaking off untrustworthy mules. Removing any chance of obstruction. Alex spend less and less time in bedroom. Sometimes, working 24 hours straight. Piper had to remind her to eat and sleep. And Alex told her that she can't stop working. It was more of a work or die situation. If you're not giving your 100%, you'll be put on trial. Alex devoured herself in work. Making every plan foolproof. With precise instructions on how to walk and talk past airport authorities. 

But Piper easily accessed Alex's laptop. Copying the schedules. Transportation dates and times. Flight number. And how much heroine was being shipped. Complete list of dirty airport cops who were fed more bribe than what they earn in a year. Neatly organised information of every transport. 

Every meticulously designed transport was being caught at a rate that seemed highly like an inside job. Piper knew the flow of information won't last forever unless someone else gets caught. Someone has to become the scapegoat. 

Fahri. 

Fahri needs to be out of the game for the game to go on longer. Getting Fahri would make a lot of people happy. He is the link between drugs and weapons. Kubra relies on him for almost everything. 

Alex always seemed happy around Fahri. He was a father figure to her. Protective but friendly. And accepted Piper in that too. They had breakfasts, lunches and dinners together. In parties, when Alex wasn't around he would make sure Piper has the right company. Alex trusted Fahri with her life.

——————————-

They were having lunch at the Ledbury when Fahri got the call. Alex had taken the weekend off due to a flu and Piper was happy for it. This would take Alex away from the commotion at least for a little while. 

Fahri’s face paled when he received the call. It was bad news. Alex sensed it. Piper knew it. It was preplanned. Piper had learnt about the transport from emails between the two and of course she had shared it. Even now, outside the Ledbury, agents in civil dresses were keeping a watch on the movements outside. They were to make a move as soon as Fahri gets out of there. 

Fahri's contact was arrested at Heathrow Airport before the plane could take off. Fahri was frantic. This was the third time it has happened this month. A total failure. Kubra will not be happy. It was practically a death sentence.

"Fahri, what's wrong?" Alex asked from across the table. 

"My guy. He got arrested. He had a package." Fahri said getting up. 

"Wait. Wait. Wait. So what? It happens, right? Kubra will understand." Piper said nonchalantly. 

"This is not a business of forgiveness, Piper." Fahri's voice was heavy. "Alex..."

"Yes. Where are you going? You know he'll get to you." Alex came out of her momentary shock. 

"I...I need to get out of this country at least. And I don't know. I will figure something out."

"That's not how it works."

Fahri gave a sad smile in return. 

"Take care of yourself, Alex. Piper. Have a good life." Fahri hugged Alex and Piper. 

This whole ordeal felt more emotional than Piper had anticipated. He smiled so sadly that Piper wanted to tell him not to go. But Alex was rooted to her seat. Maybe she had accepted the truth. The truth that Fahri was going to die. 

When Fahri walked out, Piper ran after him. 

"Fahri. Wait." She shouted just outside the restaurant. 

"Piper." He stopped in his tracks. 

"Surrender. To the authorities." Piper said. 

Fahri laughed. 

"I am serious." Piper said. "They want information. On Kubra. They know what kind of business has been going on lately. Trade what you have. Get a sweet deal out of it."

"It's not that easy, Piper. Our life doesn't work like that. My life was over the moment I fucked up that transport."

"No. Give it a shot. The police, they um.. want Kubra. More than anyone."

Realisation dawned on Fahri. He stepped back and evaluated Piper. His eyes getting bigger. A small smile appeared on his lips. 

"You are the traitor." He said. 

"No shit, Sherlock." Piper joked. 

"How? Kubra...he - he ran a background check on everyone. There was nothing about you."

"I have higher powers in my favour."

"I could use you. I could tell Kubra that you're the mole." He smirked. 

"That would be a death sentence for Alex. He will kill her, thinking she might have a part in it too." Piper said. "I am certain that you don't want Alex dead."

"Neither do you."

Piper stayed silent. 

"Surrender." He said. "To the authorities. Will it work?" 

"It might. Tell them you are willing to cooperate if you are given complete protection."

Fahri nodded. 

"The work I do for Kubra, I am not proud of it. It kills me everyday, knowing what I do. I don't want that for Alex. Save her. From this." He sounded sincere. Like it was his last wish. 

"I will try." Piper said hopefully. 

Piper brought Alex to the hotel. The sadness that she witnessed in Alex was unprecedented. Piper tried everything to distract her but she wouldn't budge. Alex was stuck to the news channel. 

That day, British police arrested Fahri in a parking lot. It was a surrender. Fahri had taken her advice after his face ended up in every news channel (thanks to his arrested associate). Piper released a breath of relief after hearing that Fahri was in police protection. Soon he will be moved to the embassy for extradition. 

Instead of relief, Alex received a call from Kubra. An urgent meeting. Some required organisational changes were to be made. Alex left without saying a word. 

Piper received a congratulatory call from Caputo. Who reassured her about Fahri's extradition. But not his safety. He simply ignored the request with no need to worry about it. Even though every single arrested associate from Kubra's cartel had died before they could utter a word against him. 

Alex came back after midnight. Sad and defeated. She was even reluctant to even look at Piper. 

"Alex," Piper said softly. "What happened in the meeting?"

Alex was sitting at the edge of their bed. Piper beside her. Their fingers intertwined. Alex wouldn't look at her. Alex's eyes were down, staring at the hardwood floor. 

"Alex, love, please look at me." Piper requested. When Alex finally looked up, her eyes were watery. Her lower lip trembling as an evidence of how hard she was trying not to cry. 

"Oh, Alex, baby.." Piper cooed. Pulled her closer. Kissed her forehead and hugged her. Alex buried her face in Piper's neck and sniffled. 

"It's okay, baby. I got you." Piper whispered in her ears. When Alex pulled away, her eyes were red and puffy. She cleared her throat and said in a low, low voice,

"I killed Fahri."

"What? No, no, baby...."

"I did, Pipes. Kubra was there at the meeting. And other people too." Alex said. "People that I haven't seen before. And then he said I am being promoted. I was not sure what that meant. Then he said I am getting Fahri's position. His responsibilities. His work." Alex sniffled. "We celebrated. Then he made a call in front of me. Put it on speaker. It was Aydin. Kubra's hitman. He was asking for permission. Kubra said yes. And then we heard a choking sound. When I asked who it was,"

"Oh baby...."

"He...he made an example of him, Pipes. It was a warning. He killed Fahri. Fahri always told me that we were all replaceable in Kubra's eyes. I thought he wasn't. He was like a brother to Kubra. And he killed him."

Piper held her tighter. 

"It's on him. Not you."

"He is a monster." Alex murmured. "He is a monster. And I dragged you into this. Pipes, I am so sorry. I am so sorry."

"Don't be. Alex. Don't be."

"He... he wants to meet you. Kubra, he knows about you. And he wants to meet you tomorrow at his hotel. I couldn't refuse. I couldn't. I felt weak, Pipes, powerless. I should've said no. I am so sorry."

"Alex. Alex. Hey," Piper stroked her hair back and tilted her head so that their foreheads were touching . "If you need forgiveness, I'll give you that. But this is not your fault. You were in a shitty situation and he is a shitty person. I understand. And I know you wouldn't let anything happen to me. Okay?"

Alex nodded. 

"Okay." 

"We will figure this out. Yeah?" Piper smiled reassuringly.

Piper knew that this meeting with Kubra, was going to be test. They both were going to assess each other. Piper has to keep on the innocent, doe eyed act. But as a precaution, she left a message for the agency.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact :
> 
> English is not my first language. Not second. But third. So yeah, most of my knowledge of the west relies on a handful of Hollywood movies and Google the almighty. Bonus? I am student of hard sciences. That being said, please find it in your heart to forgive my mistakes and leave kudos if you like what I write. No pressure.


	5. I Am Not The Only One

Kubra sent a car around 10 in the morning at the hotel. Piper hadn't expected it to be so soon. She wore a simple blue sundress that Alex picked up for her. It was like having brunch with a friend. Except it wasn't.

The town car slowed in front of Victorian mansion. Alex nudged Piper gesturing to get out of the car. Piper was counting the guards around. Too many guards.

Alex and Piper followed a butler who kindly offered them an umbrella in the hot blistering sun. Holding hands.

"Well, this is kinda nice." Piper tried to lighten up the mood.

"Yeah." Alex's attention was somewhere else. Piper gave a squeeze on her hand.

"I am sure everything will be fine." Piper said cheerfully. Alex smiled.

"I wish you didn't have to do this."

"Yeah. Me too."

Kubra was waiting for them at a garden table in white polo t-shirt and Khaki shorts. He grinned upon seeing them. Piper suppressed the urge to kill him then and there. He got up, removed his sunglasses and hugged Alex dramatically. Alex stiffened at the touch.

"And who might this be?" He appraised Piper ungraciously. But handling unpleasant men at boring tea parties was something Piper has done numerous times.

"This is Piper. My girlfriend." Alex introduced.

"Nice to meet you, Mr. Balik." Piper said politely. Kubra scoffed.

"Please. Don't be so formal. It's like a brunch with friends." _It’s not_. He shrugged. "Have a seat."

"Sure. Thank you." Piper smiled politely.

_Improvise. Adapt. Overcome._

The drinks arrived. Then the starters. Kubra maintained the flow of conversation to light topics. The weather, and travel and airline services. Of course, he set the pace of conversation. He was the one asserting the dominance. Showing he's the boss.

Soon enough his focused shifted to Piper. Her childhood. Her parents. Education. Ambitions. He seemed very interested in how she answered instead of what she answered. The slight shake of legs. Quirking of an eyebrow. Breathing pattern. Nervous ticks. An open interrogation.

And of course, Piper knew what was going on. A witch-hunt trial. He must have backtracked to find out what he missed. But Piper had been on the other side of the table. She had been a game maker before, how hard can it be to play.

Half an hour into the brunch, Kubra's phone rang. He picked it up right in front of them.

"Yeah, send them." He ordered. "Just some business. Hope you don't mind. Piper."

"Of course not." Alex answered.

Business meant four girls in their early twenties gagged and bound being dragged into the lawn. They were crying. Begging for their life. Voice muffled by their gags as his thugs forced them to kneel.

Piper grabbed the edge of the table. Knuckles turning white. She watched Alex clenched her jaw shut. Adjusting her glasses. A nervous tick. _Good. It was affecting somebody else here._

_Interrogation. Intimidation. Submission. That's what he wanted_.

"We got these girls from Iran this summer. That one from China." He pointed. "I wanted to give them a life. A rich, pleasurable life. But, sadly, they tried to run away." Kubra's voice was a drawl. Bored even.

_Human trafficking. Another thing to be added to the list of crimes._

Kubra threw a gun at Piper. Her instincts kicked in and she caught it. Turned it and pointed it at him in a blur of motion. She heard thirteen guns cocking at being pointed at her. Alex in a vain effort, positioned herself beside her.

Piper assessed the ways to get out the situation with her and Alex alive. None. The gun he had given her was light. The clip must be empty, Piper figured.

Kubra laughed. As if this was a joke. As if Piper didn't have the guts to shoot him right in the head.

"Good reflexes, blondie." His hands were in the air. Less surrendering, more telling his men to calm down.

_You wanna play. Let's play_.

Piper shrugged and loosened her grip on the gun. She smiled bashfully. Alex relaxed a little when the guard lowered their guns.

"You're full of surprises, I see." Kubra said. "Wanna play target practice?" He asked (decided). He signaled one of his butlers. Soon, an apple was placed at the top of each girl.

_So fucking dramatic_.

Piper would have laughed at his shenanigans hadn't it been about life of four innocent girls. It was hard, reading Kubra.

"Let's see, what's your weapon of choice?" He asked.

This could easily go two ways. Either Piper refuses and leaves Kubra's suspicions unresolved or Piper plays and gives him enough of truth to get out of here alive. Piper chooses the second option. She would very much like to live.

"I'll take the M9." Piper said casually.

"Good choice." Kubra gave her the handgun while he opted for a rifle. "You're awfully comfortable around guns for a girl who grew up in Connecticut suburbs."

Piper shrugged and turned the safety off on her handgun.

"My grandfather owned part of a gun company back in the Second World War." Piped said.

"Is that so?" Kubra said, surprised.

Piper nodded. "So, how do we do this?"

"Simple. Shoot the apple. You go first." Kubra said.

Piper threw a seemingly apologetic glance towards Alex while cocking her gun. Alex had an unreadable expression with sunglasses hiding her eyes.

Piper shot it easily. Keeping an eye contact with the girl as if to say _I won't hurt you._

"Nice shot. What's the name of the company that your grandfather owned?"

"Chapman and Holt."

"And he taught you to shoot?"

"No. My father did."

Kubra shot the next apple and reloaded his rifle. He hummed as the girl took a sigh of relief.

Piper took her time cocking the gun and aiming. She missed. Shooting a tree trunk behind the girl somewhat intentionally. She pouted dramatically. Kubra laughed at that.

He shot it effortlessly. Making quite a show of it. He nodded telling Piper to take the next shot. Piper took it still maintaining the show of an amateur. Kubra clapped.

"Bravo! Bravo! I must say I am quite impressed." Kubra said taking the gun off of her hands.

"Thank you, Mr. Balik." Piper watched a guard walk forward behind Kubra as he began to say,

"Oh please, no formaliti-"

The guard said something to Kubra quietly. Keeping a hand to cover his lips, so that it was impossible to lip read. Kubra solemnly nodded after hearing whatever information was fed to him.

"Forgive me for the abrupt end to this pleasant conversation, Piper. But there is some business that needs my attention at the moment." He said smiling sweetly as if it was a normal tea party. "I enjoyed this, us. I am hoping to see you soon, Piper."

"Yeah. Me too." Piper said giving one of her dashing smiles. She saw Alex getting up from her chair with a sour face. _Oh boy, she is not happy_.

But then Kubra picked up the rifle again and started loading it. Piper was about to interrupt but Kubra had already aimed it towards the girls.

_Bang. Bang. Bang. Bang_.

He shot all the four girls. One by one in the head. Piper flinched at every shot. The absurdness of the situation surprised her. Here she was, perfectly capable but unable to save lives of innocent people.

————————

She was ashamed. All the training, skill, intelligence and she couldn't save those girls. Kubra did whatever he wanted. She could have killed him there. There was enough weaponry and hiding spots. She had a back up battle plan in case everything went to shit. She didn't use it and those girls died. And Alex. Alex had been there the whole time. Silent. Watching. She must've known what was to happen. She had worked long enough to know.

Was this normal for Alex? Has she witnessed so many executions that it doesn't affect her anymore? Perhaps. But how could killing innocent people ever be normal except you are a psychopath? Piper sighed and looked at Alex.

Alex was talking with the driver about a music concert downtown. Piper couldn't stack away the anger and disappointment that was on her face.

"Hey kid, are you okay?" Alex asked, concerned.

_How could I be okay?_

"Yeah. Just a bit nauseous. Nothing to worry about." She lied for the sake of the driver.

Something unreadable crossed Alex's eyes. Worry? Surprise? Disappointment? Piper couldn't care less. It seemed those deaths did nothing to Alex. Was Alex so used to this that it didn't affect her? Then Alex was not the person Piper thought she was.

The car stopped in front of their hotel and Piper got out haphazardly leaving Alex behind. She took the stairs ignoring Alex. She climbed the five floors to their floor thinking that she needed the blood flow to think quick. The next step.

Piper went into their room using her key card. She took a few deep breaths leaning on the closed door then went to the closet in determined strides. She got rid of the stupid sundress that she was wearing and opted for her running gear. A black sweatshirt, track pants, running shoes and sunglasses. And the earpiece. She had to brief the agency on her meeting.

By the time Alex entered their room, she was putting on her shoes. Alex shot her a quizzical look. She closed the door behind her and walked to Piper who was sitting on the edge of the bed. She sat next to her.

"I thought you were not feeling well." Alex asked putting a finger under Piper's chin prompting her to look up.

"Yeah. I thought taking a jog might help. Clear my head, you know." Piper said avoiding any eye contact.

Alex nodded. Something was off. They both could sense it. It was only a matter of seconds before one of them brings it up.

Piper stood up. Not willing to deal with the unsaid. She has a job to do-

Alex grabbed her hand as she started to walk away.

"Does it... does it bother you? What happened there?" Alex asked. Her voice small, uncertain, too afraid to know the answer. But Piper's answer came out harsher than she had intended.

"Of course, it does, Alex." Piper snapped. "Not everyone is used to witnessing murder. No, merciless execution."

"Yeah." Alex sighed. "You are right. You didn't sign up for this."

Piper was starting to regret her words until Alex started speaking again. Alex stood up too. Piper was taken aback by such fury.

"And you also forgot to tell me that you were a gun fanatic. That shooting at people's heads was okay with you till they start dying. Wow! Pipes, your grandfather owned a gun company that I didn't know about but you casually mentioned it to him. You were perfectly fine chit chatting with Kubra but God forbid if I d-"

Piper's phone vibrated in a familiar rhythm. The agency's call. It must be about the briefing. She was supposed to meet someone and feed detailed information. This conversation needs to end fast. She needs to get out of there.

"Oh! For god's sake." Piper shouted. "Is that's what bothering you? What did you want me to do? Freak out? I wasn't enjoying it, Alex. I just did whatever he said in the calmest way possible. I didn't wanna end up like those girls. So sorry if chit chatting with your boss was inconvenient for you."

"Don't fucking try to justify it, Piper! You liked it. Loved the whole thing, didn't you? The attention, the guns, the -"

"The executions. Is that what you are getting at? Well, yeah, guess what? I'm now a fucking witness to an execution. And I can't say a fucking word. Wasn't that his motive? Get me involved! Or maybe that was you? Your idea?"

Her phone vibrated again. She would have to pick it up the third time.

"Fuck You, Piper. Fuck you for even thinking that. I would never do that. To you, I would never do that. You just need an excuse to make me just like them. You think I am one of them. I am not one of them."

"I don't even know what's the difference between them and you and now me. I don't know anymore."

"So what you are gonna walk away? Avoid me? Run instead of talking? Is that what you want?"

"I...i-" Piper said gently. "I just need some space okay? I need time to process ... this. Please, Alex."

Alex nodded reluctantly. She turned away from Piper, head down and covered by raven hair. She looked so hurt that Piper couldn't help but comfort her. Piper touched her arm softly. Prompting her to turn towards her. She tucked a strand of loose hair behind her left ear and kissed the corner of her mouth.

"I'll be back in an hour. Then we will go to that dinner that we planned, yeah?" Piper said softly.

"Yeah."

Piper walked backwards without turning. Smiling slyly.

"You know what happens after dinner, right?" She said.

"Yes. I can't wait." Alex grinned.

"I love you, Al. You know that, right?"

"Yeah. I love you too, Pipes."

"Bye."

Piper closed the door and took a deep breath. That was hard. And unnecessary in a mission like this. But who was she kidding? She was so deep in love that their relationship felt like the most real thing in her life.

Piper picked up the call when her cell started ringing for the third time.

"I am on my way." Piper said in an even voice.

———————


	6. Sick Of Losing Soulmates

1

Three streets from their hotel, Piper stopped running. She took out her earphones and walked towards an outdoor café across the street. There was a woman sitting under one of the bright colourful umbrellas reading a newspaper. A woman Piper instantly recognised. Stella.

"I didn't know it was going to be you, Carlin. Where is Caputo?" Piper said sitting down in front of her.

"Good to see you too, Chapman." Stella folded the paper in her hand. "I must say the preppy look suits you."

"And you still look like a cop from a bad 90s movie." Piper replied smugly.

"Fine. Fine." Stella chuckled. "Caputo is busy. What's the update?"

"I met Kubra Balik." Piper said.

"And?"

"He has guards. Heavily armed ones. Some of them looked like ex-military."

"Anything specific?" Stella leaned in getting interested. She took out her laptop and logged into the system to process Piper's information.

"A man. Mid 30s. Bald. Mexican accent. A lizard tattoo beneath right ear. Moustache. He looked like someone important. He whispered something to Kubra while I was there. Check in military and criminal databases."

"38 matches with your description." She turned the laptop towards Piper. "Here, see if you recognise him."

Piper scrolled down till she found his picture next to a name.

"Found him. Gustavo Sanchez. Two years in the presidential guard. Fired due to insubordination. It's him." Piper said, ecstatic.

"Let's put a tail on him. If we can get him alive, uff, Kubra is in a lot of trouble." Stella said taking her laptop back. "What's up with you? Something you wanna tell me."

"Kubra...he, he killed some girls right in front of me. And I couldn't do shit. He said they were smuggled. So you can right down human trafficking as well." Piper scoffed.

"Not surprising for a guy like him. But that's not what's bothering you, is it?" Stella said.

"Alex's reaction to it. It was like she wasn't affected by it. I am afraid she's beyond saving. It scares me to think that she's one of them." Piper said with uncertainty. She wasn't sure on how to share this but she needed to share this.

"She's not... you are not supposed to save her." Stella sighed. "I've seen you in missions before. You... you are a brilliant agent because you get things done. No strings attached. She is a criminal. That's why she is so close to Kubra. You can't expect her to be compassionate."

It was a mistake, sharing that with Stella. Piper realised that her view on the world was still black and white despite being in the agency for so long. But Piper's beliefs were still strong. They refuse to see Alex as human because they don't know her she does. Don't love her like she does.

"Yeah. You are right." Piper said curtly. "I should go now. I'll send whatever else I can find. Have a good day, Carlin." Piper got up.

"Be careful. You can't afford falling for someone like Alex Vause."

Oh dear, I already have.

Piper smiled in reply.

2

Two weeks later

On an early Wednesday morning in Melbourne, Piper was splayed across Alex's lap. Her head in Alex's shoulder. Alex has a copy of Anna Karenina in one hand as she was reading out loud for Piper, stroking her hair.

"What happened to him in that moment is what always happens to those who are unexpectedly caught in some shameful deed. He had no time to adapt his face to the position..."

Slowly Piper zoned out of the smooth narration. She was soon occupied in an internal assessment of her current situation.

After the first meeting with Kubra, things between Piper and Alex mellowed down. Of course, they had a very rough and pleasurable night filled with a lot of makeup sex but after that Alex was back on her long working hours and Piper doing absolutely nothing. Things were back to normal. Except their weekly visits to Kubra's parties.

It was clear that Kubra had taken a deep interest in her whether it was because of her rich family background or her carelessness in front of him, she wasn't sure. But it surely worked in her favour. Kubra used almost no guard around them. They would joke and play until it was business time again. Alex would join them a bit later with some reluctance.

Alex clearly had a problem whenever Kubra was around Piper. Protective instinct? Maybe possessiveness. There was always an underlying rage in Alex's eyes whenever Piper laughed too fondly or he touched her little too long. Piper reassured her again and again that she loved her but she couldn't explain why she was like that around Kubra. Truth to be told, Piper loved it too because hangouts like those would usually end up in hot, desperate and rough sex. All the attention and affection would be shown on those nights.

And in the morning she would feel guilty again. For lying. For betraying Alex. She felt like she didn't deserve it. Like she wasn't worthy enough. She blamed herself for not finding a way out of this fucked up situation.

"Pipes?" Alex nudged her lightly. "Were you sleeping on me?" Alex was smiling adorably.

"No." Piper sat up. "I was not."

Alex laughed. "Did you hear what I said?" Piper shook her head. "Diane called yesterday. She was wondering if we could go visit her this weekend. So...what do you say?"

Piper loved visiting Diane. She was an amazing woman. She had so many happy memories with her.

"But..." Piper paused. "Kubra invited us to his party this weekend." She was hoping to get a chance to be near Kubra once again for one last trick.

In seconds, Alex went from joyous to melancholic. Thanks to Piper.

"Yeah. You're right. The party. Kubra's party. We have to be there." Alex adjusted her glasses absentmindedly.

"We can go next week. Maybe we could bring her some of those Belgium chocolates that she likes?" Piper said sounding optimistic.

"Yeah. She would love those." Alex said fondly.

Friday

They had a flight in four hours to Paris. But Piper managed to convince Alex that she needed to go run a few miles before leaving Melbourne. The flight was going to be long and exhausting so it wasn't that hard to convince.

Piper ran on the jogging trails of Albert lake park keeping an eye out for potential tails. Everything seemed just as usual. Soon enough, a man in a black cap and thick moustache was running alongside her.

"Could you please slow down a bit?" Joe Caputo said exasperatedly.

Piper chuckled and came to a halt behind a nearby tree. "Too old, Joe?" She chuckled.

"You're too fast, Chapman." Joe said panting. He took out a Manila envelope.

Piper laughed, taking the envelope and opening it. A small thumb drive and a small cube fell out on her palm.

"That's a special grade thumb drive. You put it in Kubra's computer, it copies every single file on his computer. Easy peasy."

"What about this? I don't remember them being so small." Piper held up the small black cube.

"Audio transmitter, 5th generation. It will record everything in 50 meter radius. Plant it somewhere close to Kubra, assuming you're going to that party thing this weekend." Joe said.

"Yeah. We are." Piper replied pocketing the devices. Caputo contemplated her for a few seconds. "What?" Piper asked.

"Let's take a walk, Chapman." Caputo said taking a few steps forward.

"What is this about?" Piper asked having no clue what's gonna happen.

"I spoke to Carlin." Caputo said. "She tells me that you're getting attached with the subject, Alex Vause. I am not going to say anything new. You are capable of understanding how dangerous that could be. This is a lonely job Chapman. And it's easy to get attached but that makes us blind."

"Is there a point of this conversation? You'll have a successful mission when I am done." Piper retorted defensively.

"I am worried about you." Caputo said. "This thing is gonna end with Kubra and everyone associated with him behind bars."

"I know that Joe. But I also know that Alex is not involved in any threat regarding our national security. She's a drug smuggler, yes, but I would never let her get accused of something she would never do."

"That is not up to you, Chapman." Joe scolded. "Your job is to get Kubra and everyone who is associated with him behind bars and trust in the system that it will do justice."

"Yeah, like it did with Fahri." Piper scoffed. "Can we go back to business please? How many people know about the bugs?"

Caputo sighed heavily and said, "It's just between you and me."

"That means you don't trust whether or not I'll be able to get it done?" Piper asked.

"Yes. And no. I trust your abilities but I don't trust the circumstances. I can't give false hope when this operation has more chances of failure than success, especially with deputy director watching our every move."

"Deputy director is in our team, now?" Piper asked, surprised.

"Natalie Figueroa, legal head got promoted to deputy director a week ago." Caputo explained. "She's heading the whole operation now. And she wants results and positive results. We can't give her any setback. Is that clear?"

"Yes, sir." Piper nodded.

"Now, go be a good agent. Get this done." Caputo patted her back and took off in another direction.

On her run back, Piper smiled at how many people have already told her not to get close to Alex. It reminded her of her sophomore year girlfriend - Eliza.

She was her first girlfriend. Eliza was so good to her (God, she was such a goth). In a time when her parents and peers critiqued her about etiquette, Eliza was there to show what real care felt like. When Eliza kissed her for the first time, she freaked out. She enjoyed it, yes, but breaking rules was terrifying. And thrilling. The rush and passion of having secret love was overwhelming.

When her Polly Harper caught them making out in the bleachers. She clearly dismissed Piper saying that it was just a phase. That you don't get involved with someone like Eliza. Then it was her mother who caught them kissing in the backyard which was very unpleasantly followed by lectures on her status in society. How inappropriate it was for her to be associated with someone like that. Piper still has those memories of being shipped to boarding school thinking she did something absolutely horrible.

But this Piper knows better. It's selfish but she doesn't want Alex to be incriminated. She wants to be the one to save Alex. It's a redemption of her own for all the lies that she has told so far. And she will never let anyone else decide who she gets to love. 


	7. Skyfall

Kubra's parties always reminded Piper of _Gatsby_. Grand and way too many people. Laughter, booze and white lines on mahogany tabletops. Sometimes celebrities or politicians would join in as well. It's chaos but anyone in the vicinity knows not to go in without an invite.

Piper and Alex are in the close circle of Kubra. They sit where he sits. The powerful people are in there with them, in the open space verandah that overlooks the rest of the party. It's in one of Kubra's many mansions in Paris. It has high ceilings with enormous chandeliers. Red, green, blue and neon lights bouncing off the walls and thump-thump-thump of some pop music thrumming in her blood.

Piper held the glass of champagne in her right hand and leaned on the railings, evaluating the party crowd. Her midnight blue cocktail dress fits around her hips perfectly. It had been a last minute choice due to the pockets which now carry the bugs. Piper took a sip of her champagne. Kubra hasn't arrived yet.

Piper felt two hands being softly placed at her hips. She sighed and leaned into the touch. Falling back on Alex. Alex chuckled in response.

"Feels like being on the upper deck of the Titanic, doesn't it?" Alex said after a while.

Piper nodded. "Looks like they are having way more fun than us."

Alex backed away a bit. She took Piper by her wrist and tugged towards the staircase spiralling down.

"What are you... what about-"

"Kubra won't be here for another hour. C'mon! Let's have some fun." Alex grinned like a child.

Piper couldn't stop smiling then. The childish excitement in Alex. The way she protectively has Piper's back as they go deeper into the crowd. The slow movements of her hips as she reduces any possible gap between her and Piper and starts to sway with the music. Their hands in and out of each other's hair. The slow trailing of experienced fingers going on well owned territories. The sloppy and hungry kisses of necks, collarbones and lips. Both looking like lovesick teenagers who couldn't get enough.

Time doesn't have its usual speed when they are like this. It's fast and sometimes slow. They are panting when the song ends. Both willing to continue this in a more private location.

A tap on Alex's shoulder brought her out of her trance. Alex turned around to find one of Kubra's men signalling her to come upstairs. Alex nodded. Turning to Piper, she leaned in closer to her ear and said,

"I am gonna go have some business talk with Kubra. We will pick it up where we left. I promise." Alex left with a gentle kiss and a provocative wink.

Piper let her go. At least Kubra was here now. She just needed to find his computer. And how many rooms could one mansion have?

By the time Piper opened the 17th door, she had lost all hope. Maybe today's not the day. Most of the rooms were occupied by guest who were already high off their asses. And others were naked people. A lot of naked people. Piper couldn't care less about them.

The last room however was the one were Kubra was having his meeting. Piper could tell that by the guard posted just outside. Going in now would be a mistake. So, Piper waits for the next fifteen minutes behind the door of a room just across it whose occupants were both naked and high.

When the meeting finally ended, Kubra came out laughing. From her little stakeout, Piper could see that Alex seemed distressed about something. When they were out of sight along with the bodyguard, Piper came out of hiding and casually slipped into the room.

The room sort of resembled a conference room. Long dark wood table with chairs on side. At the other end there's a television mounted on the wall. As Piper got closer, there was a call log on the screen. The latest call was an American number from Washington. Who the hell that must be?

The laptop was sitting right there at the head of the table. It was unlocked. Thank god. She wouldn't have to hack the password. But it also meant that Kubra will be back soon to get it. He is arrogant but not naive.

Piper got to work pretty quickly. She used a penny to unscrew the bottom case. It comes out easily. She placeed the little black cube in the space between. Once it was securely placed with no chance of falling it, Piper reassembled the whole thing praying that she didn't damage any parts.

Next went the thumb drive. Piper put it on one of the ports and it started running a code automatically. Piper left the laptop and peeked out of the door just to be sure.

Fuck.

Kubra was walking towards the conference room. He was too busy talking to a very sketchy looking guy. Piper ran to the laptop. The screen read,

**48%**

**Estimated time : 560 seconds**

Piper glanced at the laptop. What's the best way to deal with this? Fuck fuck fuck.

**507 seconds**

Kubra was just outside the door. Piper could hear them talking. She could even make out the words if she concentrated hard enough. But she was too busy emptying a nearby glass of champagne all on her dress. She smeared the rest of her lipstick, kicked off one of her heels to the far corner, tousled her hair and hoped that she looked drunk as fuck. She was positioning herself on the third chair from the head of the table very ungracefully when her ears focused on Kubra's words,

"-no, no... keep Vause out of it. The less she knows the better. JF wants her to take the fall. We can't risk telling her more than she needs to know. Once she is arrested I don't want her to rat us out to the agency."

"We can take her out before the agency gets her." An unfamiliar voice said. "Like we did with Fahri and all the others."

Piper's heart is beating like she has run a marathon. This was not the kind of information she was supposed to hear but thank god she did.

"When the time comes she must be taken care of. But don't do anything that's unnecessary. In two days everything will pay off all the sacrifices and we will have everything we ever wanted."

"To a new world."

There was a clink of glass and a short laughter. Piper heard Kubra get in the room as she settled with her face in the crook of her elbow and another glass of whiskey.

**234 seconds**

Kubra halted the moment he saw her. His whiskey splashing out of his tumbler. He contemplated her for a few seconds before walking forward to reach her. He came closer and placed a hand on Piper's bare shoulder, grabbing it hard.

_Motherfucker_.

"Wha-" Piper mumbled. "Alexxx..." she lifted her head slowly and hoped drama classes at Smith were worth it.

"No. It's me." Kubra chuckled.

Piper tried to stand up but failed miserably.

"No. No. No. Sit down." Kubra grabbed her waist pulling her back on the chair and sat down next to her. "You look very very drunk."

"No...it was just one drinkk." Piper slurred. "Alex was there then she wasn't." Piper cried. Tears streaming down, smearing her mascara.

"I am sure she was busy." Kubra's hands now travelled to her head. Stroking her hair.

"But she left me." Piper wiped her eyes with the back of her hands. "She...she..." Piper broke down crying again.

Kubra pulled her closer with one hand and placed his other hand at Piper's inner thigh. Piper silently gasped at the contact.

"Shh... baby girl. I am here now. I will take care of you. Soon there will be no Alex Vause and you will be all mine."

The way he was holding her now, Piper counted eight ways in which she could end his life. Three of which would be very painful.

_A knee to his balls. Rotate his body while he will be recovering. Head in armlock. Crushing the tumbler and putting it into his mouth. Tighten the arm around his neck and he will be forced to breath in the glass which will in turn cut his trachea into pieces, causing him to bleed internally. Breathing will kill him. Slowly and rather painfully. But no. Now's not the time._

Piper counted the seconds in her head.


	8. Suspicious Minds

**76 Seconds**

If Piper does anything now, her cover would be blown. So she held her breath as Kubra forced himself upon her. Forcefully. And rough. Consequently hurting her. She moved, trying to get out of his hold but he wouldn't budge.

Until Kubra's phone vibrated in his pocket. He grunted and reluctantly let go. He got up and took out his phone facing away from Piper.

**46 seconds**

Piper exhaled in relief. She stretched her hand towards the thumb drive, removing it completely. She has to get out of here trusting that it copied enough information to incriminate him.

"What?!" Kubra shouted over the phone. "Gustavo?... fucking idiot! ... yes, yes. Terminate him before he says a word to Police... I understand that...yes I will...no, she won't be a problem. I kept her away from it...in two days. Yeah...for a new world."

By the time Kubra turned back to Piper, Piper had already gotten up and getting to leave pretending to be disoriented but conscious. She opened the door with heels in one hand and a glass in another.

"Where are you -" Piper was out of the door before Kubra could finish his sentence. She literally ran out of the mansion and grabbed a taxi to their hotel room. Abandoning Alex. If she wanted to save Alex then she would have to figure this out and soon.

She took the stairs back at the hotel. She hid the thumb drive inside her running shoes and quickly changed into more casual clothes. She prepared a getaway bag with her passport, a gun and some money, just in case.

Next she sat down at Alex's desk with her laptop, phone, notepad and a watch. Alex would be here soon. She had already left 4 missed calls and 2 voicemails which Piper did not reply. If Alex is trying to find her at the party then it'll buy her some more time. She turned on the voice receiver on her phone so that she could hear any conversation that might be happening in Kubra's vicinity. Right now it was receiving some vague French song.

Piper plugged the thumb drive into her laptop. With some coding, she entered the file log.

**—Encryption code required—**

What the hell was an encryption code required for? Wasn't she on her own? She would have to call Caputo now.

The audio receiver buzzed back to life. Piper directed her attention towards it.

"What is it?" Kubra's voice asked.

"It's from the messenger. He says that your laptop might get compromised." Someone replied. Piper recognised the voice as the same that was talking about eliminating Alex. Aydin.

There was a long pause before Kubra said, "Destroy it." And a loud gunshot.

Piper released a breath that she didn't know she was holding. She clenched her fist trying to ease off the anger.

How could he know that? The bug? An information that was just between her and Caputo. Unless...

Piper dialed the agency. She needed the encryption code to know who was the Kubra's man inside the agency.

"Caputo?" Piper immediately said.

"No. It's Deputy director Figueroa. Do you have the information?"

Piper was stunned hearing her stern tone. She had always corresponded with Caputo while on missions abroad. This was new.

"I didn't know you would be receiving the call, Deputy director."

"Well. I am now. And you report directly to me now. Just to make things faster. What can I do for you?"

Trust or not to trust. How much faith can I put into her?

"I need the encryption code for the thumb drive Caputo gave me." Piper iterated in one breath.

"You had access to Kubra's computer." She sounded eager. Happy eager. "What about the microphone?"

"I didn't have much time. I am not sure how much data was copied. And the microphone..." Piper paused. "I couldn't plant it. The encryption code, please."

"Yes... it's 26072019."

Piper typed the numbers in still staying on the call.

**Files copied : 76% from parent** **database**

**Loading** …

"Fuck. It only copied 5 percent." Piper exclaimed.

"That's nothing."

"I think I didn't give it enough time to copy."

"No. It's okay. There wasn't much hope in this operation anyway."

"Yeah. I'll get back to you if I find something." Piper hung up. Piper wrote on the notepad everything that she knew so far from listening into Kubra's conversation.

Who is JF?

What happens in two days?

How come he knows agency's crucial secrets?

Does he already know who I am?

Does Alex know?

No. That's not possible.

Why does he want to get rid of Alex?

Who is the messenger?

He must have someone on the inside. Someone powerful. Maybe that's how he has access to anyone we arrest. He is not working alone, that's for sure. There was someone above him. Otherwise he won't be so sure. But Alex. For him, she is just a pawn. Like Fahri and Sanchez.

Alex needs to get away from Kubra. But how?

Unless she tells her everything. No, that's not an option.

She gets Kubra before he gets Alex.

The computer came back to life with the files. It was not everything but most of the documents were there.

Piper opened the first file.

It was an expansive log of every bank transaction he has ever made. She scrolled down the list to find something out of the ordinary. Most of it was payments to mercenaries and to people who work for him. Records of thousands and thousands of dollars and euros. Most definitely drug money. Piper didn't know what she was looking for but she thought she will know it when she sees it.

And she did. The first transaction from someone called JF was three million dollars. It was deposited into Kubra's account almost three years ago. Back when he was just starting to dip his toes into the terror business. Then the deposits seemed to periodic. Every month. Undoubtedly this was used in carrying out some very illegal operations. Tracing the money back was unfruitful as it lead to numerous bank accounts of shell companies.

But the latest transactions were what caught Piper's attention. Some money transferred to a company for flight booking. Piper didn't recall Alex mentioning anything about Kubra going to New York. It just didn't seem right. Another thing was huge amounts of cash going in and out of accounts that belonged to seemingly random people. And backtracking records of those accounts led to trading firm on Wall Street. There had been a lot of trading by these people on selected companies.

One thing was certain though. She couldn't trust anyone. The drive only copied some of the files. So, she had no idea who else might be involved in this, especially with this high profile insider JF. At the same time she needed to understand what all this money transactions meant. It was too large to be just mercenaries pay off.

Piper dialed a number on her phone. She pressed the phone between her ear and shoulder and resumed work on the laptop.

"Washington speaking..." The reciever said.

"Poussey." Piper said. "Are you at the farm?"

"No, Chapman, I am at home and on a secure line. This is a surprise. I thought you weren't supposed to call me."

"I am not. But I don't really have a choice. I need you to do something for me. And keep it between the two of us. Is that okay with you?"

"Is everything all right over there?" Poussey asked, worried. "Coming from you, this sounds very unusual."

"Look, I can't tell you much now but there might be traitors in the agency and the government who are funding the things that Kubra is doing. He already knew about the bugs somehow and he-"

"Bugs?"

"Caputo gave me a microphone to plant on Kubra but he destroyed it before I could get anything. Also, anyone we arrest, dies even at most secured locations. Tell me it's not an inside job."

"No shit." Poussey exclaimed. "I'm flattered but how come you trust me?"

"Semper fi." Piper replied.

"Semper fi." Poussey conformed. "How can I help you?"

"I need you to take a look at the Wall Street market. Stock prices. Selling, buying patterns. Just take a look and tell me if you can see anything unusual."

Piper waited a few seconds before Poussey spoke again.

"The market is doing pretty good. Overall stock prices are looking good. Some buyers are hiking the prices of NASDAQ and NYSE. But as of two hours ago, there was a sell off of some airline company stocks that were recently bought resulting a drop of almost 300 points. Speculations are that they will drop further. Here, I see the same trend with some tourism and insurance companies. Their stocks are at high point but some people are selling off. You with me?"

"Yeah. Yeah." Piper replied.

"Well, there's the strange thing. The traders are buying shares of tech companies, defence and weaponary contractors and security agencies." Poussey finished. "I am not sure how to say this but they seem to know something we don't."

"What does that mean? Can't anybody else see that?"

"It means that if you had a sixth sense and you came to know that a hurricane is gonna hit, you sell the shares of airlines and railways that are high point because you know those companies are gonna lose when the tragedy hits. You get what I am saying?"

"No. But go on."

"It's so subtle that you can't see if you aren't looking hard enough. Something is gonna happen here in the states and those guys are gonna make some cold hard cash."

Piper sighed heavily before replying.

"I am coming to New York. Tomorrow. Kubra Balik is gonna be there as well."

"Don't tell me you are thinking about catching him single-handedly. I get that you have a weird passion for justice but that's just plain stupid."

"Stupid but necessary. Besides I have you." Piper chuckled.

"I am flattered. But, seriously, think about it. He is a terrorist. You'll need help-"

"Which you'll provide. I need you to run a background check on everyone on our team. Bank records, phone records, where did they travel, who met them since the mission began. And you find the mole."

"I can do Bennett, Carlin and Bloom but I don't have the security clearance for Caputo and Fig. I'll get back to you when I find something."

"Yeah. Sure."

Piper hung up and booked a ticket to New York, right after the flight in which Kubra was getting on that is in eight hours. How hard could it be to find a man like Kubra in New York.

Now, Alex. How does she explain her sudden departure to Alex without breaking her heart?

Piper closed her laptop and left her phone on the table opting for a quick shower to get her brain functions back enough to think this thing through.


	9. Love The Way You Lie

When Piper exited the shower, the sun was already up in the sky. Sunlight came through the French windows and poured the whole room with brightness. It was a mesmerising scene and Piper would have basked in the sunlight had it not been for Alex sitting there at the edge of bed with a bottle of wine.

"Alex." Piper said, surprised. "When did you come in? Why are-"

"You seem pretty sober." Alex said catching her eyes and taking a sip from the bottle. She was still in her black dress that she wore to the party.

"Yeah. I just took a shower." Piper replied. "But It's a little early to drink, don't you think?" Piper went on to grab the bottle out of Alex's hand. Piper strongly suspected that the reason behind Alex's behaviour must be related to Kubra. Alex laid back on the bed. Eyes closed.

"What happened in the meeting with Kubra? Did he ask you to do somethin-"

"Why?" Alex groaned, turning to face Piper who was getting into her jeans. "Were you rooting for him to ask me something that I'll refuse so that he can have an excuse to kill me?"

The way Alex said it, halted Piper in her movements. She had no idea were Alex was coming from or whatever the fuck happened after she left the party. Piper finished putting on a black t-shirt before going to the foot of the bed and nudging Alex.

"Where is that coming from?" Piper knelt down to take off Alex's shoes. But Alex refused to corporate and stretched her hand to grab the wine bottle from the bedside table. Piper removed it before Alex could reach it. "I think you have had too much. You are drunk, Jesus Alex-"

"Oh, no, no, no..." Alex laughed. "I am way too sober for this conversation."

"What does that mean?"

"I-I can't anymore. I can't do this anymore." Alex sat up. Her eyes red. Either from rage or from despair Piper couldn't tell.

"Can't do what?" Piper asked getting frustrated but not willing to quit.

"Pretending." Alex yelled. "That everything is fucking fine."

"Al." Piper didn't know what to say. Does Alex know already? About her being an agent. Or did Kubra tell her?

No, if Kubra knew then she wouldn't be alive.

"Kubra asked me to step down." Alex stood up. Standing directly in front of Piper. She is going to fight, oh boy. "Ordered me to take a few days off of cartel business."

"That's-That's a good thing, right?" Piper said with uncertainty.

"No, Pipes!" Alex snapped. "It is an international drug cartel. We don't get holidays and retirement. Either we die working or we get arrested. And this is the first time Kubra has asked someone to stop working. And I don't know Pipes, it feels like he wants to get fucking rid of me. Me, when I have worked so hard and for so long. Now he wants me to quit."

"You-you don't want to quit?"

"No. I want an explanation. Why the fuck would he ask me to leave? So I asked."

"What did he say?"

"Well that's funny, isn't it?" Alex said accusingly. "You know exactly why."

"What? How the fuck would I know?" Piper yelled back.

"Stop fucking lying." Alex's voice was so loud and aggressive that Piper had to take a step back. Alex knew. Fuck.

"Alex. I-I..."

"You're what, sorry?" Alex questioned.

"Al, you have to understand that I couldn't say a word even if I-"

"God. I was so stupid to believe that you actually love me. Rule number one, don't fall in love with a straight girl." Alex chuckled hurtfully.

"Don't be a fucking asshole, Alex-"

"Oh, I am being an asshole? I fucking trusted you. I-"

"Alex, I am sorry." Piper cried. "I didn't want to hurt you. I never wanted to hurt-"

"Well, congratulations, you did hurt me." Alex spat out angrily. "What, you thought I would be happy knowing that you were fucking my boss behind my back?"

"Al-" Piper stooped. "Wait, WHAT?"

"Kubra. He told everyone how you were all over him. A hot mess. Begging to be fucked."

"Alex! What the fuck?" Piper was shocked. "I never...I would never...he lied to you."

"Yeah? Piper just fucking stop your innocent act." Alex was seriously pissed off. "You were just apologising. And now you didn't do it."

"I was drunk, last night! He came on to me. And I ran the fuck away. I can't believe you trusted him over me. He fucking lied through his teeth and you believed him."

Alex stormed to her drawer, pulling them open, she grabbed a couple of photographs. She threw them on the bed. Piper's eyes focused on pictures of her and Stella sitting outside in that café in London after they had their first fight.

"Explain this, Piper." Alex said and hoped against hope that Piper will not lie.

"Where did you get these?" Piper eyes were still on the photographs.

"Kubra. He showed me these when I refused to believe him. He said it's not the first time you did something like this. Who is she?!"

"She is a friend, for god's sake." Piper tried to salvage whatever was left of her. If Alex didn't know yet then she could still find a way to get away. And maybe, just maybe it'll be easier leaving her. If she's angry then she can't be hurt.

"A fucking friend you never told me about. A friend who is suddenly in London at the exact same time we were?" Alex lashed out. "Now, unless you are super secret service agent, I don't know how do you explain this!"

Piper was at loss of words. There was no way out of this except the truth. But the truth at this point seemed way to risky to be told. The truth could solve all the misunderstanding but Piper was not sure what Alex's reaction would be to it. And how much would Alex be able to forgive.

Taking Piper's silence as an affirmation to the accusation, Alex sat down on the edge of the bed with a defeated sigh.

"Kubra said," Alex had her head in her hands and eyes downcast. "That girl was living in the same hotel in which we were. He wanted to be sure with you. Turned out, she was bragging about having fucked a blonde girl at the hotel bar. Did she? Did you?"

Piper knelt down in front of Alex. She tried to catch Alex's eyes but Alex refused to look back.

"Al, that is not the truth."

"I get it now." Alex looks up finally. Her eyes at the brink of tearing up. "Kubra wants me out of the picture."

"Al, it's not what you think. I-"

"Stop fucking lying already!" Alex said through gritted teeth. "At least have the decency to be subtle-"

Alex's phone rang up. Alex spared Piper a glance before going to pick up her phone. The way Alex reacted to seeing the caller peaked Piper's attention. She seemed surprised. Alex picked the call and walked outside in the balcony to talk leaving Piper to her own thoughts.

Piper considered the risk of telling Alex everything now. Alex would be angry. Oh, she would be furious but it wil spare her the heartbreak. But what if she questions the integrity of Piper's love. How much would she believe in Piper's intentions for the near future. Piper was dragged out of her thoughts when Alex came back into the room.

She looked devastated. Like someone had taken out all the life from her eyes. Piper instinctively walked towards her. Eyes curious and hands reaching to give comfort.

"Al..."

"My aunt called..." Alex said in a small voice. "She said Diane had a heart attack?" Alex looked at Piper like she was asking permission to go on, to make it real, to be weak. "She said, they are taking her to a hospital in the city. She is in intensive care right now and that she might not make it out." A tear rolled down on Alex's cheek.

"Oh, Alex." Piper wiped away her tears and hugged her tightly. Reassuring her that everything will be okay. That Diane will be okay. Piper, herself couldn't shake off the picture of Diane laughing at some rediculous joke last time they were there on Christmas.

"I have to go." Alex pulled away from Piper's embrace. "To New York." She moved fast to the cupboard and the drawers. "See if you can find two seats on the next plane. Any seat will do. We-"

"Alex, I can't go with you." Piper sates. Alex stood dead in her tracks beside the cupboard and Piper is just standing in the middle of the room looking down.

"What do you mea-" Alex stops. "Oh, right. You have to be with Kubra-"

"No. That's not-" Piper interrupted.

"The hotel lobby called while you were in the shower. They conformed your ticket to New York. Conveniently just before Kubra's flight. And your getaway bag, the one you're prepared is right where you left it." Alex said coldly like she didn't give a fuck anymore.

"Alex. You have to listen to me-" Piper tried one last time as Alex resumed her packing.

"Can you just fuck off already?" Alex shouted at her.

"No, I am not ready to give up yet." Piper said calmly. "I cannot tell you the truth. But trust me, I did not cheat on you. I love you and I will aways love you."

Alex glared at her.

"Pack your shit and go." Alex said through gritted teeth. "Get the fuck out of my sight. Please."

Piper solemnly nodded and picked up her already packed bag while Alex just stood there. Tears gathering up in the corners of her eyes but she's not letting them fall and the struggle is visible through the tightness of her jaw. Piper wants to kiss it away but she knows she doesn't deserve it. So, she stopped at the door of their hotel room and took a last glance at Alex.

_I am sorry I am always headed in the wrong direction, sorry my life is one long stretch of running and you were something beautiful on the way. I am sorry love goes like a thunderclap over an empty house. I'm sorry about how cruel I was without trying to be._


	10. Too Good At Goodbyes

At Charles de Gauelle, waiting for her flight, Piper had a lot of time on her hand to think which, to be honest, was a punishment. She couldn't even dare to cry right now. It was her fault. She deserved it. The pain, it was a punishment for ruining the best thing that ever happened in her life. But it was bound to happen someday. The truth was bound to come out. In this scenario, at least there's a slim chance that Alex will forgive her one day. When she saves her, she will apologise. She will beg her if it comes to that but she will try her hardest.

Tears streamed down her cheeks. She sniffled. The timing had to be such a bitch. Diane fighting there for life and she can't even help Alex go through this. God, what Alex must be feeling now. All because of her.

Suddenly, the air in the waiting room is too thick. The people too loud. And Piper couldn't breath or think. It's just Alex and how cruel she had been with her all this time when Alex had been nothing but honest. All the self loathing turning into little drops of water at the corner of her eyes. She must look awful to the outside world. What would Carol say if she sees her like this? She would probably scold her for being so dramatic.

So, Piper stood up, startling the kid sitting beside her. She dashed for the washroom figuring she could use some peace. She locked the door behind her. She went to the sinks and rolled a bunch of tissue papers together, thin and long enough to be stuffed inside one of the smoke detectors above. She pulled out a small packet of weed and a piece of paper from the inside stitch of her hoodie. The flight was going to be long. And she needed some relaxing.

She laid a piece of paper on the countertop and spread about 1/2 gram of weed evenly on it. With one hand holding the paper, she shaped the joint by moving the cannabis around to where it's distributed across the paper. She pinched the paper between her fingertips and slowly rolled it back and forth. The routine process of rolling a joint brought back some peace to her mind. She promised just one or two drags to get her mind straight, take the edge off. Nothing more.

She jumped up on the countertop and lit the joint with a makeshift lighter from her phone battery. She observed the red slow burning of it before taking a long steady drag. Her muscles instantly relaxed and head felt a bit lighter. The sadness felt a bit heavier on her shoulder. But the guilt got reinforced.

_You don't deserve to love her. You just didn't want to be alone. Or maybe, maybe she was too good for your ego. Or maybe, maybe she made you feel better about your miserable life, but you don't deserve to love her. Because you don't destroy the people you love_.

She rested her head against the mirror, dangled her feet beneath her and crushed the butt of her joint against the Persian marbel. She put the battery back in her phone, humming. She tried to recall any number that she could call at this moment. First it was Diane, which absolutely was not possible. Then came Cal, her brother. Maybe she could call him. But what if he's asleep. It's 6 o'clock here. Thinking it was worth a try, she dialed his number.

He picked up the call after two rings.

"Cal Chapman speaking..." his voice as cheerful as ever.

"Hey Cal, it's me." Piper said, smiling.

"Pipes? It's so good to hear from you. Wait, I should wake up Neri. She would be thrilled-"

"Wait, who's Neri?"

"She's my girlfriend."

"No offence but you have a girlfriend?"

"Hard to believe, I know. I couldn't believe either. She proposed at a pot smoking party at Shi's. She's great and she makes world's best pot brownies. You should come by sometime."

"Yeah, I would... I would like that."

"Yeah, she thinks you are cool. I told her you're a spy and all that. How's everything going in your spy life?"

"Not great. I fucked up." Piper said.

"Spilled coffee on boss kinda fuck up or America under attack kinda fuck up?"

"Neither." Piper replied. "I... ruined the best thing that ever happened to me. My girlfriend...I, she-"

"No offence, but you have a girlfriend?" Cal said mockingly.

"None taken. And yes, I had a girlfriend whom I love but I made a mistake. A huge fucking mistake. And I don't think she will forgive me."

"Hold on, hold on." Cal said. "Where are you right now?"

"In a washroom at an airport, smoking a joint." Piper laughed self deprecatingly.

"Pipes, do you remember what Dad used to do after fights with mum?"

"Yeah... he used to go away for long, long times for medical conferences or whatever. Why?"

"And do you remember, what that would do to Carol?"

Piper sighed. She had no idea why Cal was digging up the old corpses.

"I don't know... alcohol, glass after glass. Is there a point to all this?"

"Yes, you see, we all learned pretty fucked up things from our parents. Like for example, I always find escape in pot. And you, what do you do?"

"I...I," Piper sighed. "I run away. Like dad. Cal-"

"Yes. And as you can see, that fucking hurts. We should always settle our fights and not leave them in fear of confrontation."

"What if I didn't have a choice? What if running was the only option?"

"Then you tell the other person that they are not the reason you ran. That you ran because you had no choice. Think about that person, you ran away but they are there, probably blaming themselves. You get what I am saying?"

"Yeah." Piper released a ragged breath. "It's just, I have always been so good at being alone-"

"But how good at being alone do you really want to be? Isn't there a danger that you'll get so good at being alone, so set in your ways, that you'll miss out on the chance to be with somebody great?"

Piper let his words reciprocate within her for a few seconds. Piper never thought she would be taking relationship advice from Cal but he definitely knew what he was doing.

"Pipes, you there?"

"Yeah, Yeah... I am here. Have you been talking to a therapist Cal?" Piper joked.

Cal laughed before replying. "No, it's just Neri. She gives me these awesome books about self discovery. I read them when I get stoned off my ass. Maybe, that's why they seem so awesome, I don't know. She makes me a better person. She's always saying these things like ABC. Always be closing. Finish what you start. You know that kind stuff."

"Yeah. I am really glad for you."

"You should come by with your girlfriend, sometimes." He suggested.

"Maybe I will." Piper smiled at the prospect of having lunch together with Alex and Cal. "I have to go now. Take care, Cal."

"Will do, sis. Call anytime for relationship advice." Cal chuckled happily and hung up.

Piper cleaned up everything. She got back on her feet and called Alex. The call went straight to voicemail after ringing twice. Piper paced the washroom before sitting again on the counter. She exhaled softly and called Alex again.

———-


	11. Take Me To Church

The first time Alex saw Piper, she felt a connection like never before. So much, that she didn’t even wait for Piper to conform certain aspects of her WASPy upbringing. She just rushed in, interrupted, too anxious that someone else will get to her first. Alex recalled thinking that she could spend her entire day knowing every millimetre of her body.

It wasn’t love at first sight. She was curious at first. The love came after. Her quirks and habits, the way they fit together, their banters and late night talks on literature and politics. Oh, it was so easy to love Piper. Because Piper was always there, always so attentive as if hanging to her each word. She felt so loved that it would overwhelm her sometimes. The way Piper cares for her, whatever she needed. She felt understood. Piper took her time knowing her, her not-so-ordinary lifestyle and yet accepted her, loved her. Or so she thought.

Some moments with Piper were odd. She brushed them off beneath the good ones. Piper would look at her with so much longing even when they were on the same bed, her eyes would turn to a deeper shade of blue and she would kiss Alex as if it was for the last time. Sometimes, Piper would close her eyes, like it hurt to look. Alex never asked why those moments felt like Piper was hiding something. Because she always thought it was a fault on her side. Her insecurities and fears that one day Piper will wake up and realise that she shouldn’t be here. That one day she will leave her. That Piper didn’t love her as much as she did. And now the worst of her nightmares proved to be true.

Afraid that Piper will leave her eventually, she told her to fuck off. And now she’s the one to blame for losing probably the best thing in her life. Only if she could call Diane and ask… Nature has cunning way of hitting your weakest spot when you least expect it.

After Piper had left giving one last glance, Alex had been frozen in place. She cried for a while but stopped when it seemed useless. How the fuck did she managed to lose two of the most important people in her life in one day? When the pain became unbearable, she opened the secret little drawer on the back of the bathroom mirror. She had promised Piper that she would never open this. But now that Piper is gone, who gives a fuck anymore, right?

You know the feeling when you met someone, they fill this hole inside of you… and when they are gone you feel that place painfully vacant, Alex has that hole inside of her now. And that drawer contains a relief from that pain. At least a temporary one. Heroine.

Alex emptied the contents of the drawer on the floor of the bedroom and sat resting her back on the footboard. She dangled the small packet of white powder in front of her eyes. There was still some time left for the flight. She set an injection needle, a spoon, a lighter and a rubber tube in front of her. She has done this before with Fahri. In controlled amounts. Just for fun. She was not one of those junkies who couldn’t get enough. She always thought she was better than them. _Better than her addict piece of shit father._

But she is not.

Loving and being loved by Piper had been a high. A long lasting high. Just like they say, you only know you’ve been high when you’re feeling low. So, Alex craves a new drug, to get rid of this low, she needs a high. A fucking dose of heroine.

Her thoughts got interrupted by the ringing of her phone. The screen read, Piper. Alex stared at it for a while and pressed the reject button. As much as her heart wanted to give in and talk to Piper she resisted. It’s an awful feeling to love someone so much that you absolutely hate them for leaving you.

She picked up the rubber cord and tied it on her upper arm tightly.

A voicemail notification popped up on her lock screen. She ignored it. Or tried to. She pressed the play button with her other hand.

It’s a few moments of silence before Piper spoke.

“Hey, it’s me.” Her voice was shaky, unsure. Alex worried if she was in any kind of trouble. “I am at the airport and-” Piper sighed.

Alex traced the veins on her arm.

“Al, I want you to know that what happened was not your fault. It’s not on you. It’s me. You were honest and good and I -I…” Piper paused. “Okay. There are somethings that I kept secret. But I need you to understand that it has nothing to do with you. I led a fucked up life. And it’s my fault. And I know you think that I betrayed you, then yes I did but not in the way that you think. I did not cheat on you. Alex, I could never do that. You’re the love of my life. I love you so much that it’s insane. Al, don’t do anything stupid. Diane needs you. I’ll tell you everything when the time is right. I promise.” She continued. “Alex, I just need you to know that I love you. That no matter what happens I will always love you. Goodbye.”

By the time the message ended, Alex had untied the rubber cord from her arm and thrown the injection away. Tears were streaming down her eyes. Uncontrollable and pathetic. She decided that she will stop fucking crying and pack her bag. Go to New York. Make sure her Mom is okay and then maybe get back to Piper. But she wished Piper was here despite everything. That she was here to hold her. To help her get through with this.

But she isn’t here.

So, Alex got up and wiped away the remnants of her tears. She flushed away the drugs and threw away the other things out of the fucking balcony. She took a moment to watch Paris having a wonderful morning outside like everything was normal and nothing had changed. But then again, that was the thing about heartbreaks. For her it was the end of the world, for the world it was just another cliche.

————————————

Alex tried to reach her aunt a number of times at the airport and then after landing. Turned out, she had admitted Diane to a City hospital and left. Alex was the emergency contact. Alex was furious at that but there was nothing she could do. Alex was the only one Diane had.

Being back in New York was nostalgic. She always enjoyed the trip back home. Diane waiting for her with her favourite dishes at home. But not today. Today, she is probably lying on a hospital bed breathing through machines. Alex processed out quickly with just a duffle bag in tow.

Alex sat in silence as the taxi slithered in traffic from JFK International Airport to a hotel in Brooklyn that she had booked due to its distance closeness to the hospital. Alex wanted to be as close as possible.

Suddenly, the taxi came to a stop.

“What’s wrong?” Alex asked.

“Some kind of roadblock ahead. It’ll take some time.”

“Okay. It’s just a few blocks from here, anyway.” Alex said opening the door. “I’ll walk. Here.” Alex paid the taxi driver got out. She could use a walk.

She was at the receptionist’s desk in less than 10 minutes. She checked in pretty quickly. She got upstairs, took a quick shower to clean up a bit and changed into a pair of jeans and a casual white t-shirt. She took her wallet and mobile with her and left the rest of her stuff in the room.

Soon, she was on the streets walking her way to the hospital. The traffic and busy noises started a slow growing headache at the front of her head but it was bearable enough. She was expecting a headache sooner or later anyway.

What she was not expecting was an explosion. An earth shattering sound of collapse. And then fire. Alex stopped in her tracks and so did hundreds of passerby around her. The traffic stopped dead in its tracks. Suddenly everyone was getting out. Gaping at the huge ball of smoke, approximately two miles from where Alex was standing.

For the first few seconds, Alex was frozen. She was seeing it happen. The explosion. But at the same time her brain was detached. Like she was watching it on tv. But soon enough, her senses returned and the panic began. Diane. The blast happened in the direction of the hospital.

Alex started walking. Fast. Police sirens flew past her. Ambulances too. Alex couldn’t care less about the people bumping into her. People had their phones out. Some clicking pictures, taking videos, some calling loved ones out of panic. Some people were running away in the opposite direction. A fucking chaos.

Alex made a mental note to call Piper as soon as she makes sure that her mum is okay. The way to the hospital seemed too far as the streets were crowded with panicked people and cars bumping into each other. Even after fifteen minutes of walking, Alex had just covered a few blocks. She used every shortcut she could remember and still it was half a mile away from there. She could see the smoke getting thicker and the increasing sound of sirens from ambulances, fire brigades and police cars.

“They have a suspect.” She heard a teenager talking when she was waiting for the red light to turn green as the fire brigades raced towards the smokes. The girl was staring at her phone screen. Alex took out her own phone and quickly refreshed her news feed.

The news site was filled with updates on the recent terrorist attack on New York City. A bomb had been detonated in a children’s hospital were the Vice-President was visiting. There were zero survivors so far. Alex felt goosebumps rising on the back of her as she scrolled down and clicked for the next page.

And holy fucking shit.

A picture of her was staring back at from her phone screen. She was the suspect? The article said that the FBI has confirmed that she had affiliation with terrorist organisations working against America. She even had a huge reward on her head.

Alex almost dropped her phone on the sidewalk. She blinked a few times to get into the right state of mind. The red light had turned green and people were bumping into her shoulder. She turned right back to the way from where she had come.

Soon, her picture will be on every channel and every news site. It’s a miracle nobody has recognised her yet given how she has been walking. She kept her head down and hair in front as a meek attempt to disguise herself.

She couldn’t go back to the hotel. No. Too many police cars were waltzing into the streets as cops got out to handle the crowd. Alex turned to a back alley and walked in the sheds of different stores. God, she needed a place to hide. Somewhere. Till she figures out what to do.

She took turns whenever a cop walked her way. It’s a good thing she had had practice in avoiding authorities. Blending in crowds when needed. Most of the stores on the street started closing. Everyone wanted to leave and be with their family. But it also meant that she has no place to hide.

She turned south and saw a cop walking towards her so she turned around again and not so subtly. That definitely raised signs in the cop’s head.

“Hey, miss-” the cop shouts. He looked young and maybe just maybe Alex could shake him off.

Alex walked fast aiming for the public library a few meters away. She could feel that the cop was still following her. A hand on his holster and another reaching for her. But she did not look back. She took long strides and entered the library. She was familiar with the place as she had been there before with Piper. Fuck, Piper. She needed to call her as soon as possible.

She ran to the stairs at the far right corner, leading to the basement. She kept an eye out for the cop as he walked in and took a glance everywhere. The library was almost vacant. He walked a few steps but his radio turned on and an order to be back was barked through it. He obeyed the order and retrieved his steps out of the library.

Alex released a breath she didn’t know she was holding. She walked further into the basement to the old newspaper section. A dark and dingy room filled with years old newspapers and inches of dirt (last time she was here, she was eating Piper out on top of those stacks). She walked to the farthest corner and slid down. Her back to the wall and knees up close. She felt like it was a dream. A very realistic nightmare.

She took out her phone and visited the site again. There was new information. About her.

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

The hospital, her mother was in, had taken some damage but not that much. The children’s hospital was the target of the bombing. The Vice-President was already dead along with his wife and security personnel. The most recent death toll estimated 56 lives lost. People were devastated. A tragic loss. And all the blame was being put upon her. Alex Vause. Allegedly the most dangerous terrorist in the world as of this moment.

Landed on JFK international hours before the bombing… alleged affiliations to terrorist organisations… seen in Brooklyn minutes before the bombing… eyewitnesses claim her walking away from the scene after authorities showed up… a history of connections with drug cartels…checked into a hotel room in Brooklyn few miles away from the Children’s hospital… possibly armed and dangerous… do not approach

Alex couldn’t believe what she was reading. It was all a lie. A fucking lie. It was not her. But all of America seemed to be thinking that it was her. Someone was framing her. Or she was at the wrong place at the wrong time.

Her fingers were shaking when she called a familiar number. Her last hope. Her last strand of sanity.

The phone went straight to voicemail. Alex was disappointed but she did not really have a chance. She had to tell someone. Not someone. Piper, specifically.

“Hey, Pipes.” Alex said. “It’s me. Pipes, I really have no fucking idea what is happening. I was on my to see mum and then the explosion happened. Pipes, I am not involved in this.” It sounded like she was begging. “Pipes, I need you to know that I didn’t do it. I am not what they are making me. You know that, right? I need you to believe me. I would die rather than killing people. And I have no fucking idea how to handle this or how much longer I have as a free woman. Pipes, I love you. I love you so much that it hurts. I hope you love me too. Good bye.” She finished and hung up.

She laid her head back on the wall. For the first time in her life, she prayed to God that she comes out of this innocent. She couldn’t live with being a convicted killer of hundreds of children. She doesn’t want to accept this reality. This truth. Because just when she thought life couldn’t fuck her over anymore, it did.

**—————————**


	12. Fox On The Run

Kubra’s flight was going to land three hours after Piper’s. She had went straight to her brownstone after getting out of JFK international. Her old house. A Brooklyn brownstone gifted by her grandmother. She hadn’t lived there much. It was where she always came back to after finishing missions.

She took a quick shower and got into her work clothes. The standard cop ones. A white shirt (with bulletproof vest underneath) tucked neatly into dark grey trousers along with a grey herringbone blazer. She tied her hair in a clean ponytail and packed a bag with surveillance gear. Mostly, binoculars, signal blockers, camera loopers that kind of stuff.

She placed the bag in the front seat of her Mythos black Audi A3 and drove towards the airport once again. She would have to follow Kubra from the moment he lands here.

She parked her car in the parking lot overlooking the arrivals gate and settled in with a cheese burger she had gotten while getting here. Kubra was expected to be here in less than an hour. She made a mental note to call Alex once again whenever she gets time.

She ate the burger in total bliss with some melancholic song playing on the radio in the background. The cheese burger tasted like heaven. She wondered how she survived this long without one. If Alex were here, she would have devoured it too.

Her eyes stayed glued to the arrivals. And as expected, Kubra showed up right on time. Strangely, Piper noticed, he wore a fedora hat and black sunglasses and had two never seen before bodyguards at his sides. Thinking that it probably was a disguise of some kind, she waited till his Limo was at least half a mile away.

She slowly but steadily drove behind him through NY traffic. His limo was headed to Upper East Manhattan. It was hard to follow from such a distance but she couldn’t risk getting caught. It was better to play safe.

Her phone vibrated on the dashboard of her car. She was losing the limo as the streets started getting more clustered and limo seemed to be moving a bit recklessly. She ignored the first call and the next. She was too focused on the back of the limo but it disappeared when she rounded a corner.

“Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit.” Piper muttered under her breath as she pulled over on the side of the road and got out to look in the distance. His car was nowhere in sight. She lost him. Fuck.

Her phone vibrated again and she picked up this time.

“Yes?” She nearly yelled out in frustration.

“Agent Chapman, are you in fucking New York right now?” It was Caputo. His voice was seething with anger.

“Yes-”

“For the love of God! What the fuck are you doing in New York? Did it ever fucking occurred to you to inform the agency of your whereabouts?”

“It had to be a quick decision. I didn’t have the time-”

“Oh! For fuck’s sake! Your plane landed like five hours ago. What the fuck have you been doing, Chapman?”

“I was busy-”

“You know what? I don’t fucking care. I need you get your ass back to the office. Right. Now.”

“Caputo, I can’t.”

“Was I unclear? Get your ass here as soon as possible or I will drag you here and fire you for insubordination. Do you understand?”

“Yes, sir. I do.” Piper replied through gritted teeth and hung up. _Such an asshole_.

————————————

The field office in New York was bustling with activity when Piper stepped in. She met the staff waiting for her at the entrance. He led her through the chaos to the elevators where she was instructed to go to that floor.

She followed the instruction and went to the conference office where they had had their first briefing about the mission which literally changed her life. She looked through the glass to see Caputo talking animatedly to Agent Benett. She entered the room thinking that he might forget about her if she became stealthy enough. But no.

As soon as she walked in Larry piped up like a childhood friend.

“Piper! You’re back.”

Caputo turned to her so fast that Piper didn’t even had the time to blink. His face, an angry shade of red.

“Finally, Agent Chapman has graced us with her presence? Now, please explain why the fuck are you here? Who the hell gave you the orders to abandon your mission?” Caputo hissed with his arms folded in front of him. All eyes in the room trained on her.

“With all due respect, sir, I didn’t abandon the mission.” Piper retorted solemnly. “I am here because Alex Vause told me to fuck off.”

Caputo chewed back whatever he was going to say next. Natalie Figueroa stood up with sudden curiosity.

“She dumped you?”

“Yes, mam. She believes I have been having affairs with Agent Carlin.” Piper nodded towards Stella.

Stella Carlin dropped the tab that she was holding. Surprised by hearing her name, she sputtered out,

“Me?”

“Agent Carlin?” Joe repeated.

“Yes, Kubra Balik had pictures of us having a nice little chat in an outside cafe in London. He was doing a background check. Apparently, Carlin was bragging about having fucked me.”

“No, it wasn’t about you. I was no-” Stella tried to explain but Caputo stopped her.

“Even if that’s the reason why didn’t you inform me?” He demanded.

“I had another lead I was following.”

“What lead?” Figueroa inquired.

“A possibility of an attack in New York.” She had to give them something.

Caputo and the team uttered curses under their breath and took a moment to regain their composure. They all seemed equally shocked. Piper glanced at every face but couldn’t figure out which one was faking it.

Fig was the first one to break the air of uncertainty. She started very calmly,

“We have to inform Homeland and the FBI. Monitor the airports, railway stations. The VP is in the city as well.” She turned to Piper. “I need you to take a break. Then come back here to tell us everything that you know. Is that clear?”

“Yes, ma’m.”

Piper exited to go to the ladies' room with Poussey on her heels. She nodded sideways in acknowledgment and entered the washroom, locking it as soon as Poussey was inside.

“I couldn’t find them.” Poussey declared gloomly. “I am not even sure they exist, in our team. I can’t say the same about Figueroa. I don’t have access to her.”

Piper nodded in the mirror upfront.

“I have no idea what to do, anymore.” Piper’s eyes dropped to the floor. “I was following Kubra. But I lost him, somewhere near Manhattan. And Alex-” She chuckled. “She still thinks I cheated on her with Kubra. I am sorry, I just needed to say it out loud.” Piper stopped when she saw Poussey getting a bit distracted on her phone.

“Yeah. No big deal. But I gotta go, they need me back in the pit. Something happened. They need me.” Poussey went out with an apologetic smile. Piper washed her face and took a few more minutes to get out.

The commotion on the outside startled Piper. Agents were scurrying around the floor with phones in hand. She walked quickly to their designated conference room.

Everyone’s eyes in that conference room was glued to the television screen broadcasting a building on fire in Brooklyn. The attack that she was here to warn about had happened already. She looked at her wrist watch. Alex’s flight must have landed two or three hours ago.

Figueroa quickly scampered outside with the phone stuck to her ear. Probably the higher ups are asking for intervention. Caputo too seemed to get back his gears too as started barking orders immediately.

“Alright people, a bomb has been detonated on American soil, let alone in a children’s hospital. We do not let the people responsible for this get away. We catch them. And we avenge those who have fallen.” Caputo growled. “Carlin, Benett, I need you on the ground with FBI and DHS. We need to know what they know and more than what they know. Washington and Bloom, shake down every fucking surveillance equipment in that area. I want all eyes and ears on the ground.” He finished and turned to Piper.

“Chapman, what do I need to know?”

“It’s Kubra Balik. He is in New York. I was following him and then I lost him.”

“How did you know about the attacks?”

“Stock market fluctuations. And an overheard conversation.”

“So, you are saying Kubra Balik is involved in this?”

“Yes. He’s the mastermind behind this. He landed in NY two hours after me.” Piper glanced at Larry behind Caputo and said, “Run a search through all the arrivals and you’ll find him.” Larry nodded and started typing.

“What about Alex Vause?”

“She doesn’t know about any of the terrorist operations. I heard Kubra say it. They might try to set her-”

“No Kubra Balik landed in New York in the last 24 hours.” Larry spoke up.

“What?!” Piper exclaimed. “That’s not possible. I saw him.”

“Check again.” Caputo added.

Larry shrugged. “Nope. He’s not here. At least according to the data we have. But-” he stood up with his computer and placed it in front of Caputo. “I found someone else.”

“Who?” Piper and Caputo said in unison.

“Alex Vause.” Larry grinned with all his teeth. Piper wanted to knock them all out. Just what she needed.

Caputo glared at the computer screen which showed complete details of Alex’s ticket and her moving around in the airport and getting into a taxi. He gripped the edges of the table.

“She got out of the airport. Took a taxi. Guess where she was going?” Larry prompted. “Brooklyn. Few miles from the blast site.

“Washington, what the footage around the blast site say?” Caputo demanded.

“On it boss.”

“Chapman, what is this?” Caputo asked Piper again.

Piper could tell them about Diane being sick but at the same time, she couldn’t. Alex always shielded Diane from the cartel business. They didn’t know about her, she didn’t know about them. Even Kubra with all his thorough searches assumed Alex was an orphan. It was her way of protecting Diane from the dangers of her job. Piper assumed the same role after getting to know Diane. She didn’t lie. But she never told the agency anything about her either. She never even mentioned her name.

Caputo took Piper’s silence as an affirmation to the accusations being put on Alex.

“Washington?”

“We’ve got video footage that places Vause in Brooklyn. She got out of her cab and walked a few minutes with a bag in hand to this hotel and checked in. She gets out half an hour later and walks towards the blast site.”

“Bloom, what is the bomb report saying?” He inquired.

“It’s too early to say anything surely but Homeland says the bomb was placed their beforehand and then demoted remotely from a safer distance within range. They are not sure about the range yet, sir.”

“So we’ve-”

Fig barged into the room, stopping Caputo from whatever he was going to say.

“I have the director on the line right now and guess what, we are the only unit who had any information about the attack. I have to go to the Capitol and brief the President in three hours with the director. I need a name and a location and a plan of attack. Now.” Fig demanded.

Before Piper could say anything, Larry spoke up again with a smug look on his face.

“The name is Alex Vause. And we will have the location when she comes out of whatever hole she’s hiding in.”

“Alex Vause? How much evidence do we have against her?”

“Enough to put her name on the report. She was around the area when the blast occurred.” Caputo replied.

“Strangely, the surveillance footage after the attack is not recorded. This could’ve been done by an insider to remove any evidence. But we have got the recordings before the attack showing Alex Vause walking towards the location.” Poussey said.

Fig nodded taking in all the information.

Piper’s phone vibrated in her pocket.

“Good work team-” Fig started but soon got cut off by an enthusiastic Larry standing up with his tab.

“Wait a sec. I think we have a location on her. She’s using her cellphone. Just five seconds.”

Everyone stared at his tab screen as the milliseconds decreased. But Piper took the phone out of her pocket and it was indeed Alex’s voicemail. _Fuck_.

“Yes!” Caputo held his fist in the air. “We’ve got her. In the fucking library.”

“Good job, Bloom.” Fig praised. “I am going to inform the director. Caputo, prepare a response team. Get FBI and Homeland on the line. Tell NYPD to roadblock the area. But don’t share too much. This is the agency's win. We take control after we arrest Vause. Let’s prepare a response team. Chapman, I want a full profile on Vause.”

“What about Kubra Balik?” Piper asked.

“We will worry about Kubra Balik after we get Vause. Only she can connect him to the bombing. Otherwise, his name has no business getting involved.”

“Yeah. If only you could keep her alive.” Piper muttered under her breath.

“Excuse me?” Fig raises an eyebrow.

“Nothing, mam.” Piper answered. “I’ll do what needs to be done.”

“Good.” Fig said. “Caputo, you’re with me. We have to inform the Capitol before we go all in.”

They exited together, leaving Piper, Larry and Poussey in the room. Piper dashed to Larry as soon as they went out of earshot.

“Hey, Larry.” She said sweetly. “What’s the exact location of Vause?”

Larry, too astonished that Piper is talking to him, blurred out the exact address on 6th avenue while Piper and Poussey were in a staring match. Poussey figures out what Piper was thinking and tried to stop her. But it was useless. Piper was too determined to care about what anyone else said.

“Thank you.” Piper said and darted for the door. Larry couldn’t comprehend what just happened. But Poussey stood up.

“Chapman. Are you-”

“The less you know the better, Washington.”

————————


	13. Secret Agent Man

In an apartment in upper east Manhattan overlooking the entirety of the lavish neighbourhood, Kubra Balik held a glass of champagne that he had saved for special occasions only. Some Vogue model, he didn't even bothered to know the name of, was splayed across his king size bed. He has had a nice night.

The sirens that ran across the city were music to his ears. He had been waiting for this day for so long. The plan had been carried out smoothly. Not a hitch. Except maybe some of his employees getting arrested. But he needed to get rid of them anyway. The police just made his work easier. Soon, he'll have a new life. Life of power and respect and freedom. All crimes erased from his biodata. A clean slate.

Just one more step to be taken care of and he will be free. That being the death of Alex Vause.

Alex Vause has been a loyal servant. He was sure that she wouldn't mind serving him one last time. She'll be crucified for his sins. He was sacrificing one for the many.

He placed the champagne glass back on the table and called one of his loyal little pawns. Aydin. He was expecting good news. Alex Vause in custody of French Police, arrested for being found with evidence connecting to the American bombing. A written and video confession from her to be incriminating enough and then a murder in the jail cell carried out by Aydin to look like a good old suicide. And that would close all the loose ends for Kubra's brand new life.

Aydin picked up instantly.

"Alex Vause is no more in Paris." Aydin went straight to the point. He had a habit of ripping off bandages which Kubra appreciated but not at this moment.

"What?" Kubra spat out angrily. "How the fuck did that happen?"

"Her hotel record says she checked out hours ago. Took a taxi to the airport." Aydin responded. "She is in New York."

"That fucking bitch. Do you think she knows about the...?"

"No, I don't think so. Her girlfriend left her. That's probably why she went after her to New York."

That was a result of his own actions then. An impulsive decision to get the girl. It was a kick to his pride when Piper left him, rejected him. He had to teach her a lesson. Of course, he had assumed that Piper would come running back to him wanting explanation but sadly, she hadn't. Kubra brushed it off since he had more important things to deal with.

"Is she going to be a problem?" Kubra inquired.

"No sir, the messenger reached out. He says they have a location on her and they will take her out. I send one of my men to confirm. She is indeed in there. He is on standby now. When the authorities drag her out, he is ordered to finish her up."

"Good. Very good. Make sure that she is taken care of. I don't want any loose ends."

"I'll get it done, sir."

Kubra hung up with a sigh. This was taking more time than he had anticipated. He poured another glass and sipped slowly as the sun shone atop of the skyscrapers.

—

NYPD was already barricading the area when Piper

arrived near the location Larry had given her. It seemed like they didn't know why they were doing it. The agency must have kept the information to itself to gain due credit. It worked in Piper's favour anyhow.

She turned on her WASPy persona and got past the barricading with a lame excuse without getting out of the car. She pulled over behind the library and assessed the location. There were some police officers near the library but nothing too surprising or too difficult for Piper. She parked the car behind the library for a quick getaway and pulled her gun out. She held her Sig Sauer P226 in front of her and attached a suppressor in front of the barrel, ready to shoot whoever comes in the way.

As far as she knew about the CIA, the combat team will be here in less than twenty minutes ready to take out Alex. She has to hurry. She walked up to the entrance of the back alley. It was dark and mostly clustered with trash cans and a fire staircase. She turned the corner.

A loud screeching noise cut the air just a few degrees on her left. A gunshot. She ducked behind a dustbin as another shot was fired. It's not the government. Then it must be Kubra's man. He wants to trap her till authorities get here. _Son of a bitch._

Piper took a deep breath. The gunshot came from above then it must be a sniper. A sniper shooter on a roof. She peeked out to check the roofs. Another gunshot sliced through the air, missing her by inches. But she was fast enough to see the shooter on the roof of the public school in black combat gear. She could shoot him if she gets close enough. But she has to choose her fights wisely. She would rather flight than fight this shooter. Besides, from his vantage point, he couldn't shoot if she moved fast enough to the backdoor which was only a few meters ahead.

She ducked her head and scurried to the door in zigzag pattern. A few more shots rang through the air but nothing hit her. She was inside the library in less than a minute. She leaned on the closed door to catch her breath. Now, Alex.

The library was empty. It seemed like they had evacuated or everyone left after the attack. She had been here with Alex before so she instinctively went towards the newspaper section downstairs. She kept her pace slow and deliberate as not to scare Alex if she was here.

Alex, on the other hand, has been pacing the room since she had left that voicemail. She had destroyed her phone after the call. And now, locked in a fucking library, she had no idea what to do. She slid her fingers through her hair in a vain attempt to calm herself down. _Footsteps_. Alex's head snapped towards the locked door.

The footsteps were quite. She wouldn't have heard them if she wasn't listening for them. She had to think fast. This could be anyone. But the quietness did not seem like it's the police. It seemed more like Kubra has sent a hit man to finish her off before she opens her mouth to the authorities.

She took out the head of the mop that she had spotted earlier and held the handle in one hand. It was long and strong enough to hit someone. She gripped it with both hands and waited for the door to open. If she is to die here today, at least she will die fighting.

The door opens slightly at first. A push from the shoulder. Alex stopped breathing as the figure entered, a gun held close to chest and muzzle pointed out front. Alex aimed for the gun. She hit Piper's wrist with the handle. Catching her off guard as the gun flew away to the racks. But Piper recovered quickly as she dodged another strike from Alex and grabbed the front of the handle. She twisted the handle causing Alex to lose the grip. The figure is fast and trained. She throws away the handle and closes in on Alex. Alex throws in a punch but it hits nothing.

Piper grabs Alex's wrist and twists it behind her back. She needed Alex to calm down without hurting herself. Alex grunted.

"Al-" Alex elbowed Piper in the stomach before she could get a word out. Piper hit Alex in the back of her knee. Alex bent down gasping in pain. Leaving Alex, Piper reached for her gun. Alex got on her feet despite the pain. She launched herself on Piper from behind. Piper, gun already in hand, propelled backwards causing Alex to hit the wall. Alex screamed in pain. Piper twisted her arm behind her, holding them in place with her left hand and placed the muzzle of her gun under her chin. She trapped Alex by pushing her to the wall with her own body.

Their breath coming in short as shoulders heaved with each inhale. Alex's eyes were still unfocused. Fighting. Resisting Piper's grip on her wrists. Probably due to the adrenaline.

"Alex. Stop. Fighting." Piper said loud and clear. "It's me. I am not here to hurt you."

Alex seemed to gain some sense back as she stopped resisting and her eyes appeared to focus in on Piper's face. She slowed her breathing and a weak smile formed in the corners of her lips. Piper removed the gun from under her chin.

Piper swallowed a lump in her throat. Seeing Alex alive and unharmed and smiling made her so happy. She didn't want to lose this moment. But she has to tell her now. Alex will figure it out on her own anyway. It's better if Piper tells her.

"I thought I would never see you again." Alex whispered close to her ears.

Piper went in for Alex's lips. Capturing them in her own. Although, it was relatively dark, the little amount of light coming from the open door gave Alex an angel like glow. And Piper couldn't resist. She nipped and pecked on Alex's lips, releasing her hold on Alex to grab her by the waist. Alex coprated with pushing even closer for more contact. Piper could kiss Alex all day like this but it isn't the right time nor is it fair of her to take the last moments of Alex so selfishly and hungrily when the future is so uncertain, when Alex doesn't know the truth.

So, Piper pulled back, in the middle of the kiss. Back and fast enough that Alex's hands were hanging in the air expectantly where Piper should be. Alex gave a slight eyebrow raise. Asking what was wrong. Piper shook her head.

"Alex." Piper's voice was low and gentle as Alex leaned in attentively. "I work for the CIA. I am a CIA special agent."

—

**END OF PART ONE**

**—**


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